Dark
Light

Suggestions

Sisters Singing For Love While Getting No Love From the Mainstream

December 15, 2024
5 mins read

YOUNG BLACK WOMEN’S SONG: THE MIXTAPE

By Kalamu ya Salaam of Kalamu.com

Saturday, October 29, 2011.

I listen to a lot of music, constantly checking for new stuff, as well as constantly re-visiting older work. There are always surprises in both categories. Finding someone whom I previously didn’t know and being knocked out by their work is always a thrill. But, equally, it’s also a thrill to be knocked out by some old work I didn’t remember liking or even had never listened to—in fact, the truth is there is probably more quality older work to discover than there is quality new work; but that assessment is just my bias showing.

Any how, I’ve got four recent works by young black women, I like them all for different reasons but I want to briefly concentrate on a common thread in terms of subject matter. As is evidenced in these four artists whose styles and approaches are very different, the main thing they have in common is a search for social fulfilment.

Back in the day, the search was called looking for “Mr. Right.” While this has always been a serious topic for sisters, in the new millennium the situation has become critical, some would even say desperate. And the music reflects that social crisis. Whether expressed as a soft moan or a shrill curse, as the goal of stable male/female relationships becomes harder to achieve, more and more singers focus on the frustrations of trying to find nuggets of gold amid mountains of what is perceived as male madness.

We all know the statistics: more black men in prison than in college; well over half of all black households headed by single women. There’s more bad news but we are all too familiar with that. There is no need to whip that dead mule. Besides most of us are just looking for a little relief, and thus we turn to entertainment if not to take our minds off our problems, then at least to have a brief respite of fun and dancing.

Yeah, yeah, we know. A song is not going to change our conditions but a well sung song can make the load a little easier to bear. Consider these lyrics as modern day work songs, because for sure, making a relationship work is hard work—hard, hard, real hard work.

And that little preamble brings us to a roundup of young sisters trying to make a career out of music. So here is a brief breakdown of why I chose these artists:

teri tobin 01.jpg
I like Teri Tobin’s smoky voice. She has a classic R&B sound, reminded me of Anita Baker when Ms. Baker first came on the scene, especially with that “Angel” song. This is some moody, late-night soundtrack for extended one-on-one sessions. Each track oozes sensuality and promises of deep bliss or laments about the absence thereof.

I particularly dig “Wide” and “Lovesong.” These might be called sexy, slow-motion funk.

arinmaya 01.jpg

ArinMaya is really, really on some other tip. Her Let The Love Come release features just voice and guitar, and she manages to pull it off. This minimalist approach takes a bunch of self-confidence to sustain. There is a genuine warmth and intimacy in these grooves. The most immediate reference is India Arie—I guess you can call this some urban folk music. ArinMaya is the kind of artist who provides the music for the spoken word sets down to the Second Cup Cafe.

I found myself thinking this is okay but not great, but then every time I returned to her tracks I would catch myself listening attentively, and I came to the conclusion that some of what attracts me to music is not technical but rather deep sincerity. Obviously she’s not going for commercial success; this must be life force for her, must be a commitment to self-expression and the sharing thereof.

aaries 01.jpg
AAries is a twin-duo who and they have just released CoverGirls, a six-track EP of cover songs. Of the grouping on this Mixtape, AAries are technically the strongest. They have picked up where The Emotions left off. The blend of their voices is harmonically stunning and melodically entrancing. Plus the musical arrangements have a twist of difference while remaining familiar so that you can appreciate the re-modeling of an old song.

These young ladies might be considered aural interior decorators whose little touches and major make-overs combine to convert that dingy musical den in our head into a resplendent showcase for lounging and reminiscing.

k michelle 01.jpg
K. Michelle has the closing words and her last song on the Mixtape is practically an admission that she tried to play the game but ended up getting played. Her stage persona is of a street-wise, no nonsense, I-do-me and can take care of myself, self-made “chick.”

With songs like “For My Birthday,” “Fakin It,” and “Girlfriend” she presents herself as though she was in total control as she does whatever she wants to. But other songs paint the downside of a rough-ass mountain: “Turn The Radio Up” and “When Crying Is Easy.” She really gets to the grime behind the glitter.

For me, the attraction is not the hip-hop orientation or the quality of her voice, nor am I really a big fan of some of the concepts but she’s got two elements in spades. First, there is an in your face fierce and honest rawness that moves way beyond the pretense of exaggerated braggadocio as evidenced by the lyrics that describe in detail her lows and failures as sharply as she emotes when she’s bragging about being on top of the game. Second, the whole production is a step beyond competent engineering and merely clever hooks mated to a few phat beats. In this case, this is album-quality production values, plus this is more than a mere handful of songs on her Mixtape that runs 20-tracks deep.

But there is more, not just to K. Michelle, but indeed to the others as well, and that is the fact that all of them are on the outside trying to break into the big time. None of them have a major label release yet. All of them are doing EPs and Mixtapes that they offer for free distribution or for nominal donations.

In a perverse twist of the social reality, they are struggling to get attention from a man to be a mate and also struggling to get general attention as artists who are female. It’s one thing not to be able to find a spouse but not to be able to connect to an audience has got to be the ultimate frustration. Shit, what’s a girl got to do to get a break?

One of the subliminal motives for this feature is to give some spotlight time to young artists who’ve yet to successfully break onto the national scene. We all know about all the local rappers, wherever your “local” is, who are worthy of national attention but how often do we think of all the young sisters who are trying to make it in an industry that is built on the principle that sex sells? The pressures to conform are massive, and then when you do conform there is still no guarantee that you are going to get any attention.

Anyway, here are some recent sounds that you might find enjoyable if you give them even half a chance.

black woman song cover 01.jpg

Love Infinity – Teri Tobin

01 “Whatcha Say”
02 “Applications”
03 “Wide”
04 “Why”
05 “Lovesong”

black woman song cover 02.jpg
Let The Love Come – ArinMaya
06 “Nothing Even Matters”
07 “Love’s In Need”
08 “Around”

black woman song cover 03.jpg
CoverGirls – AAries
09 “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)”
10 “Baby, This Love I Have”
11 “Don’t Ask My Neighbor/Nothing Even Matters”

black woman song cover 04.jpg
Signed, Sealed, Delivered – K. Michelle
12 “For My Birthday”
13 “Self Made (ft Gucci Mane)”
14 “Fakin It (ft Missy Elliott)”
15 “Girlfriend”
16 “Turn The Radio Up”
17 “When Crying Is Easy”

black woman song cover 05.jpg
18 “Acura Integurl” – unreleased single – K Michelle

Post Views: 977

SholaAdenekan

167 Comments

  3. An fascinating dialogue is value comment. I feel that you should write extra on this subject, it won’t be a taboo topic but generally persons are not sufficient to talk on such topics. To the next. Cheers

    Reply

  4. A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment. I do believe that you need to publish more on this issue, it may not be a taboo matter but usually people don’t speak about these issues. To the next! Cheers!!

    Reply

  5. Thank you, I have just been looking for info approximately this subject for ages and yours is the greatest I’ve discovered till now. However, what concerning the bottom line? Are you certain in regards to the supply?

    Reply

  14. Having read this I thought it was really enlightening.I appreciate you finding the time and energy to put this content together.I once again find myself spending way too much time both reading and leaving comments.But so what, it was still worth it!

    Reply

  22. Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and Ifind It truly useful & it helped me out a lot.I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me.

    Reply

  24. I’m not sure where you are getting your information, however good topic. I must spend a while finding out much more or understanding more. Thank you for excellent info I was searching for this information for my mission.

    Reply

  30. scoliosisHmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the pictures on this blog loading?I’m trying to figure out if its a problem on my end orif it’s the blog. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.scoliosis

    Reply

  33. Heya! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new apple iphone!Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts!Keep up the fantastic work!Feel free to surf to my blog :: 온라인카지노

    Reply

  35. I have not checked in here for a while because I thought it was getting boring, but the last several posts are great quality so I guess I’ll add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂

    Reply

  68. I do believe all of the ideas you have offered for your post. They’re very convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are too brief for novices. Could you please prolong them a bit from next time? Thank you for the post.

    Reply

  84. Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it,you’re a great author.I will make certain „건마„to bookmark your blog and will eventually come back at some point. I want to encourage that you continue your great work

    Reply

  85. Aw, this was an exceptionally good post. Finding the time and actual effort to create asuperb article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a whole lot and never manage to get anything done.

    Reply

  102. Outstanding post however I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this topic? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Cheers!

    Reply

  105. Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say superb blog!

    Reply

  108. An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. I do think that you should write more about this issue, it may not be a taboo matter but usually people don’t speak about such topics. To the next! All the best!!

    Reply

  109. Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering if youknew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form?I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having problems finding one?Thanks a lot!

    Reply

  126. Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with SEO?I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good results.If you know of any please share. Cheers!

    Reply

  127. I like the helpful information you provide in your articles.I will bookmark your blog and check again here regularly.I am quite certain I will learn plenty of new stuff right here!Good luck for the next!

    Reply

  133. 🔹เว็บตรง มั่นคง ปลอดภัe🔹⚡️ฝาก/ถอน ไม่มีขั้นต่ำ ระบบอัตโนมัติ⚡️เว็บตรงไม่ผ่านเอเย่นต์ ตัดปัญหาโดนโกง⚡️คืนยอดเสีย 5📍ครบจบในเว็บเดียว บริการตลอด 24 ช.ม♣️คาสิโน ⚽️บoล 🥊มวe 🎱หวe 🎰สล๊อต

    Reply

  165. Hello there! I could have sworn Iíve been to this blog before but after looking at a few of the posts I realized itís new to me. Regardless, Iím certainly delighted I stumbled upon it and Iíll be book-marking it and checking back regularly!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous Story

Mahalia Jackson & The Sanctified Bounce

Next Story

I Hate Jazz Music!

Latest from Blog