)(( hannah mello ))(

My Woman.

Hours ago I stepped out of the golden wood box in Tier 4 of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. I had gone to see MY WOMAN. India Arie.

I remember first seeing her on MTV unplugged. She was an unknown singer/songwriter then. Barefoot. In a colorful skirt, scarf, and big big earings, strumming the guitar. Every run and lyric struck a chord in me. --from the very first song.

It's been years since then.

Tonight I got to see her live. I sat alone. The center seat, with 2 empty chairs on either side of me. My head bopped. My lips half-smiled. I laughed. I got the chills. I remembered. I contemplated. I enjoyed. I think I was the only white girl in the house.

What struck me most in seeing her live what her character. Her character reminded me a lot of my cousin Larkin actually <-- who is also a singer/songwriter/musician. Her obvious down-to-earth humanity. The vulnerability of her authenticity. Her sense of humor and playfulness. Her confident charisma and definite diva-ness that she will continue to mature into. WHO she is speaks so so loudly.

A lot of things she said in the concert really stuck with me. One of them being that the second year she got nominated for Grammy's, she won. But her feelings were deeply hurt because she found out that a lot of the black artist wins were not going to be televised-- including her own. She said that she almost didn't have the emotional strength to go because of it. I guess Chuck D encouraged her to write her own mission statement-- that it could be her mantra she could keep saying to herself to remind herself what her purpose and her music was all about-- to give her strength, perspective, and courage. She said, that night, she articulated that her mission is: "To bring love and healing through the power of words and music."

When she would be about to start a song, she would say: "Ah. This is my song right here." or "This is my jam right here."-- reinforcing how the lyrics really are enlivening and packed with life truth and real human experience.

There are too many favorite jams to name, but here are her albums below-- in chronological order...









A toast.
A toast to the woman who has chosen to really speak truth-- truth about heartache and what it means to lose and to regret and to remember.
A toast to the woman who has chosen to really focus in on the monsters of forgiveness and humility and love.
A toast to India Arie. Cheers to my woman who has helped me grow as a woman and as a human being.

posted by )(( hannah mello ))( @ 10:15 PM