Imade iN Truth

Somehow, my life turned into the lovechild of the Maury Povich show and a telenovella.  But I’ll explain that later.

In Pt. 1, I discuss the shock of meeting (and being charmed by) a punk rocker black guy in outreach.  He serenaded me with R&B classics like Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been” and even nailed the struggle choreography.  Where did this crazy man come from?

He told me that he would see me at church the next day.  As a woman who has only been pursued by two men (Jesus and the bootleg movie guy on Crenshaw), I didn’t believe him.  I responded with the same incredulous laugh I gave Mister Cee.  Yeah, right.

But he was there in the church lobby.  He waited. For me.  My heart melted.  I never met a guy who was this intentional.

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I’ve had a non-existent love life since the womb.  And for many reasons. The South is thee worst place to raise a dark skinned girl.  So many things were denied to me because of the color of my skin, like appreciation and light-skinned men.  

Even though I was a Christian since 13, I didn’t understand God’s love until I went to college.  I was surrounded by kind Christian men who opened doors and cared about my wellbeing.  I wasn’t attracted to them at all. 

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This is my sexy, “get out my face because my life is falling apart” pose

So its 2:22am on the West Coast and I can’t go to sleep.  It’s not because of insomnia or school work, it’s because of a severe depression episode.  Searing pain.  Tears.  Repeat.

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You don’t come across a group with the authenticity of Devotion everyday.  The UK brother-sister duo of Daniel and Peace Oluwatobi started their musical journey in 2008 by singing worship lyrics over R&B/pop compositions.  Their January 2012 mixtape, R.E.D., showcased their vocal prowess, yet some familiar cover songs (*cough Trey Songz “Can’t Be Friends” cough*) overshadowed the remake.  I prefer when Devotion uses looser arrangements like “Fix You”.  The Coldplay cover has a stripped instrumentation that’s perfect for the group.  By the end of the video, I’m not thinking about who they covered, but who they’re discussing.  Devotion’s exquisite gospel lyrics gets all the attention.  Website  Twitter  Facebook  Soundcloud  Youtube       

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that I’ve been up the rough side of the mountain.  After entering the freefall and quitting my advertising job in 2011, I became a suicidal, broke writer living at my mom’s house.  

It felt like every door closed in my face, but in 2012, I enrolled in USC’s Specialized Journalism (The Arts) program.  A one year graduate program has been one of the most stressful endeavors of my life, but also the most rewarding.  Through the connections I made there, I started a spring internship at LA Weekly.  I write concert reviews and interviews for their West Coast Sound Blog.  

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The singer-songwriter era hasn’t ended, it’s just evolved.  Marian Mereba, the Atlanta based Ethiopian beauty, is the perfect example.  She’s just as comfortable over a head nodding break beat (“Ride The Wave”) as she is over a folksy rock ballad (“Go To London”).  Marian’s sound is undeniably diverse.  Her vocals, so intimate and pure, beautifully paint an emotional picture from her introspective lyrics.

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There’s not enough songs about chicken snack wrap/dollar menu love. The type of love that makes you look away when your man drops a 2-for-1 coupon on the counter.  Ryde or die chicks are hard to come by, but Ruby is certainly one.  She follows her exquisite ballad, “Okay”, with the old school techno-house number, “Down”.  The song is quite repetitive (“If your money is low boy/Ooo baby/If your money is low”) but the song’s simplicity is effective in communicating Ruby’s willingness to do anything it takes to help her man.  It’s easy to overlook Ruby’s thug love however (she sneaks in “Anyone who tries it, I’ll punch them” in her native language 0_0). The song’s upbeat production in undulating synths and conga drum rhythms can make anyone forget the McChicken struggle.  ”Down” is just.that.good.  Facebook  Twitter 

Courtesy of Bella Naija

Courtesy of LATC

(Super late concert review from last month, but I just wanted to share)

Emeli Sande is a lot of things: a catchy pop artist, an introspective singer-songwriter, and an inspirational icon who skyrocketed from Scotland obscurity to international stardom.  Floating in the shadows of her career is a less flattering description: she’s boring.  Or so I thought. The endearing, yet sloshy ballad driven album, Our Version Of The Events, seemed only bearable through a la carte listening.  But during Sande’s Myspace sponsored showcase, she shed her conservative, draping clothes and melancholy ballads for a svelte black dress and a riveting, high energy performance.

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Nick Brewer is a beautiful man.  Now that I got that out the way, I can actually talk about his music.  Since Alone In My Thoughts Part 2, I have been an instant fan of Brewer and his two-step, Quiet Storm Hip Hop.  For Valentine’s Day, the romantic wordsmith released the visuals for “So Good” that is just the right amount of simple and sweet.  The soulful boom bap of the Moods instrumental, “Love Is Real”, blends perfectly with Brewer’s hopeful rhymes about his budding romance.  There’s so much to love in the video with its array of beautiful flowers, Brewer’s adorable pits check, and the playful dancing at the end.  I did hope that “So Good” would eventually feature his leading lady, but that might be an artistic style.  The vintage coffeehouse visuals of “Spare Thoughts” shows Brewer using the abstract to paint vivid mental images.  Check out the video after the jump and be ready to unwind.  Twitter  Facebook  Youtube  Website

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When I first heard JGivens’ latest single, all I could think of was this is a nice smooth it out joint for the ladies.  But “Can’t Say” is much deeper than that.  The Saint City based JGivens offers his most intimate account of his Egyptian travels with a G-funk twist.  Yes, you read that right.  JGivens busts out Nate Dogg-esque vocals while providing a behind the scenes diary of what it means to be Christian in a Muslim world.  The soulful, mellow track produced by Evil Needle subverts Westernized Christian ideals of being unashamed of the gospel.  The (Romans) 116 lifestyle that Lecrae popularized has more expressions than “how loud you can cheer” but it stems from “how you live it”.  JGivens saw first hand how believers go underground while watching their loved ones get persecuted (even to the point of death) for their faith.  Though JGivens thought this was first the “spirit of fear”, he matured to an understanding that this is strategic wisdom.  ”Can’t Say” is an eye-opening lesson that following the heart of God takes many forms.   Twitter  Facebook  Soundcloud  Bandcamp