India.Arie
ARTIST TO WATCH: India Arie
WHY WE'RE WATCHING:
Precious few R&B unknowns land debut albums on the Billboard charts -- and fewer still do it while toting acoustic guitars and positive messages about loving yourself. But India Arie's enchanting debut single, "Video," clued folks in to her classic rhythm-and-blues-rooted debut disc, Acoustic Soul, with such unfashionably affirmative lyrics as, "I'm not the average girl in your video and I ain't built like a supermodel/But I learned to love myself unconditionally because I am a queen." Now the Denver native is making her way down the trail blazed by like-minded soul sisters Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu. There was a time, however, when the 25-year-old wasn't so self-assured. "As a teen, I had really bad acne and I used to wear a lot of makeup to cover it up," says the natural, dreadlocked beauty. "But when I went to college, I stopped wearing makeup. I decided it was time to accept myself, and that was the first time someone told me I was beautiful."
WHAT'S IN A NAME: "My parents named me India because I was born on Mahatma Ghandi's birthday," says the singer, whose father is former ABA basketball player Ralph Simpson. "Arie is something my mom made up. I later found out that it means 'lion.' "
SHE'S COME A LONG WAY, BABY: Prior to joining Motown, India studied jewelry making at Savannah College of Art and Design, where she discovered the instrument that changed her life. "The guitar was the first instrument I played that I could sing with," says India, who was heavily influenced by the music of James Taylor. From there, the talented vocalist co-founded an Atlanta artists' collective called Groove/Earthseed, and their independently released compilation led to her two-city stint on the Lilith Fair tour with Bonnie Raitt. "I learned how to set up my microphone stand by watching her."
MAJOR INFLUENCES: At the beginning of Acoustic Soul, India pays a bluesy, unplugged tribute to her musical muses, which include Donny Hathaway, John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye, and Karen Carpenter. "I could talk all day about Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, but let's talk about Karen Carpenter for a minute," she says. "What a voice. You can feel where she's coming from. There's such sincerity in it."
KINDRED SPIRITS: Fellow neo-soulster Jill Scott is high on her list. "I love that Jill was successful by being her voluptuous, pretty self," says India, who talked to Scott just before she took off for a quick European tour. "She is so dramatic. She told me that after my trip overseas, 'You're gonna come back so different.' "
THE MUSIC OF HER MIND: "The music I make is definitely coming from the point of view of a black woman. But I've had men thank me for the song 'I See God in You.' They say, 'I can't believe a woman wrote a song like that about me.' " She adds: "My music is soul music because it comes from the heart. My music is also healing music. [The fact that artists like me, Musiq Soulchild, and Jill Scott have become popular] represents the energy of the times and it can't be stopped. Through its message and its vibrations, music has the power to heal."
Tracy E. Hopkins
April 24, 2001
© 2009 All Media Guide, LLC