The roles of musician and activist often overlapped in people like Elaine Brown and Nina Simone, giving the movement a repertoire of protest songs. R&B and soul singer-songwriter India.Arie, who is performing at Berklee's MLK celebration on Friday, Feb. 3, is carving out a place for herself in this realm today. Her work joins the growing collection of contemporary protest music emerging with the Black Lives Matter movement from artists like Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, D’Angelo and Blood Orange.Īrie hit her performing and recording stride in the early 2000s, and is now more on the periphery of the pop music limelight. That doesn’t stop her from creating music that is culturally and politically aware.Ī robust, athletic voice and sensitive songwriting gave Arie a large local following in Atlanta when she was a teenager, often performing solo, accompanying herself on guitar. A Motown music talent scout discovered Arie in 1999 and her debut album "Acoustic Soul" was released in 2001. The seven Grammy nominations for “Acoustic Soul” would be the first of many, as well as some wins later on.įrom her debut, Arie was infusing social commentary into her lyrics as in the body positive lead single for "Acoustic Soul," "Video.It’s pretty appropriate that I’m listening to India.Arie’s new LP, Worthy, on Valentine’s Day.
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When you think about it, India has spent the better part of 20 years teaching us how to love – from t he beauty of our brown skin down to the fire and desire of unmitigated passion.Īnd lord knows if you watch your social media feeds for more than 30 seconds, you’ll quickly realize that our world is in desperate need of love. That’s the prevailing message of Worthy, India’s seventh studio album and her first solo LP since Songversation in 2013. Current single “What If” provides a powerful look into our history: “What if Martin didn’t stand up/What if Rosa didn’t sit down/What if Malcolm didn’t man up/Where would we be now? … We can change the world with our love.” The world seems to be a much darker place since 2013, so, true to form, India uses her platform to inspire. It’s more than a timely Black History Month lesson. The politics of “Rollercoaster” hit even closer to home, with India wearily wondering why “every time I turn on the news, I can’t seem to tell a lie from the truth.” She’s frustrated with a world that ignores communities under siege but spends all their energy demonizing men like Colin Kaepernick, warning that “Keeping Up With the Kardashians is falling behind.” Her words are part education, part affirmation and all part of India’s mission to inspire. Y’all try this tea, it’s delicious today. “Coulda Shoulda Woulda” gives us an even deeper dive, with India not only silencing trolls and defending her right to self-expression, but reminding the world that “I’ve BEEN Black Girl Magic, 20 years I’ve been at it/I’m over you, I got nothing to prove.” It’s a reminder that she’s been ’bout that brown skin long before it was trendy. It’s the same dose of realism that she’s been giving us for decades. Longtime fans know that India’s always been at her best when delivering that acoustic soul. She doesn’t deviate from the script on Worthy. “In Good Trouble” and “Crazy” are both standouts, with her vocals delicately floating along the track on the latter.