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Entertainment August 28, 2017
Besides the fact that she brings the rhythm to R&B.
India Arie is the powerful vocalist behind the empowering early 2000s anthems “Video” and “I am Not My Hair.” Her soulful tone and melodies draw in the crowd. However, it is the rawness and sincerity of her words that keep the fans coming back for more.
Her songs tackle a variety of issues that speak to the soul. She addresses issues regarding race, religion and self-love. Nothing is off the table. When this singer-songwriter releases an album, it gives listeners an insider view of Arie’s opinions and her own personal journeys.
Here are five reasons to fall in love with India Arie if you haven’t already.
The soul singer-songwriter was born in Denver, Colorado to equally talented parents Joyce and Ralph Simpson. Arie’s father is a former NBA player. Her mother was a Motown singer who opened for Stevie Wonder and Al Green when she was just a teenager.
It wasn’t just her parents, either, she comes from a deep bloodline of artists. Arie’s entire family sings, dances and plays an instrument. She told Relevant Magazine, “As I grew up I was always playing music, it’s all I ever did. I had the natural inclination, combined with musical training.” Well, it certainly has paid off.
Little did she know that singing beneath the trees in Atlanta, Georgia would pay off quite like it has. India Arie is a four-time Grammy winner and throughout her career, she received 12 nominations. In 2001, her platinum debut album “Acoustic Soul” hit number three on the Top R&B and Hip-Hop Albums and reached number 10 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Collectively she has sold over 10 million records worldwide and 3.3 million in the U.S.
In 2006, she released her third album, “Testimony: Vol. 1 Life & Relationship” which was Arie’s first time earning a number one spot on the Billboard 200. It went certified gold and was also Motown Records’ first number one album in 12 years with over 1.3 million album sales worldwide. Her next album “Testimony: Vol. 2 Love & Politics” didn’t do half bad either. Upon the album’s release in 2009, it was number two on the R&B Chart and number three on the Billboard 200.
Her talents have not just been applauded by fans. Other iconic musicians clearly recognize what Arie brings to the table. She has collaborated with artists from various facets of the music industry, such as Carlos Santana, Adele, Erykah Badu, Stevie Wonder and legendary pianist Joe Sample to name a few.
In 2002, she received nominations for seven Grammys and lost in every category. Several observers dubbed this event the worst snub in Grammy history and it devastated Arie. “In 2009 I let go,” Arie told her label imprint Soulbird. “I realized I had to seize the chance to make the career and life I wanted, not accepting what others wanted me to do. So I decided to retire, asking God to show me where I am supposed to be.” Arie decided that she no longer wanted to perform to fit into the music industry. She let go of others’ expectations and started to write for herself again.
Three years after her retirement, Arie produced her fifth studio album “Songversation” which Vibe called “chicken soup for the soul.” The record in itself was an “aha moment” for the soul artist. Arie disclosed in the interview that with this album she stepped into her own power for the first time.
She continued, “It’s about not having anything to prove except to simply express myself because it’s who I am — not as a means to an end. Chasing that and topping that is not me. It’s about being more me in both my life and career.”
India Arie advocates mindfulness whether that be with prayer, meditation, yoga or simply a moment of silence. The soul songstress disclosed to Oprah Winfrey that after years of healing and meditation she had a “spiritual awakening.” This “aha moment” Arie gained from introspective practices that would inspire her latest EP “Songversation: Medicine.” In an interview with The South Florida Times, Arie shared that, “My wish is that these songs bring softness, clarity, calm and inspiration.”
India Arie embodies strength and self-acceptance. The lyrics, “I’m not the average girl from your video and I ain’t built like a supermodel, but I learned to love myself unconditionally. Because I am a queen,” resonated with ladies everywhere.
India’s empowering words are critical in a world where too few women recognize their worth. However, not even this queen herself always practices what she preaches. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Arie disclosed that when she released uplifting tracks like “Video” she felt anything but self-love. She revealed that the messages she conveyed to embrace who you are were affirmations for how she wanted to feel.
Despite her confident exterior, India Arie truly struggled with self-doubt. She told Oprah, “Your real job in the world is to be you. Comparing yourself to other people […] I think that hurt me more than anything.” Arie was never the prom queen or considered the “it girl,” so she felt out of place in the music industry. However, she also revealed in her interview that she can now confidently say that she loves herself wholeheartedly.
In one of her latest songs, “I am Light,” Arie sings, “I am not the voices in my head. I am not the pieces of the brokenness inside, I am light.” Her lyrics now go beyond an affirmation. They are proof of her inner growth. India Arie gives us a model of how we want to feel, but also acknowledges that truly loving yourself is a lifelong process. Basically, we are all queens even if we don’t feel that way right now.
India Arie’s music strikes a chord among African American women in particular. In the song “I Am Not My Hair,” Arie’s words, “I am not my hair, I am not this skin. I am not your expectations,” rang true in the hearts of many.
Despite movements like Black Lives Matter and Black Girls Rock, the beauty of African American women goes widely unrecognized. A study conducted by The Perception Institute in 2016 revealed that black women who choose to wear their hair natural suffer from implicit bias in the workplace. Several African American women revealed to Teen Vogue that wearing natural hair risks losing job opportunities and subjects women to extensive criticism in the workplace.
India Arie doesn’t just accept her heritage. She openly celebrates it. While her family line goes back many generations in Mississippi, Arie nearly always sports traditional African head scarfs, dresses and jewelry. As her stylist, her mother sews many of India’s dresses for public appearances and performances. According to a DNA test, India Arie descends from various tribes in the African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea-Bissau.
Arie doesn’t just pay tribute to the hairstyles and fashions in African and African American culture. She honors and loves the skin she’s in, literally. Her song “Brown Skin” openly defied Euro-centric beauty standards by demonstrating the beauty of melanin. This positive representation of the black community is just as, if not more, necessary to show now given recent events, than its 2002 release.
Police shootings of unarmed black men are unfortunately not anything new, but they have certainly gained more public attention in recent years. India Arie released a single “Breathe” in July of 2017 as a tribute to the Black Lives Matter Movement. The title of the song was a tribute to Eric Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe.”
On their website, Black Lives Matter is defined as “an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.”
“Breathe” serves as a source of comfort for those who feel helpless in the face of adversity. Messages like, “Fight for your life in the face of a society that doesn’t value your life,” set a profound tone. The lyrics urge people of color to remain resilient in these trying times and support one another.
This track is one of many on Arie’s album, “Worthy,” which is in the works. We can’t wait to hear it and see what is in store for India next!
