|
|
India.Arie (born India Arie Simpson on October 3, 1976 in Denver, Colorado) is a neo soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and guitarist.India.Arie learned the transforming power of music early in life, encouraged by both parents: her mother, Simpson, herself a former singer, and now India.Arie's stylist; and her father, basketball star Ralph Simpson. She had taken up a succession of musical instruments throughout her schooling in Denver, Colorado, but her discovery of the guitar at college in Savannah, Georgia, led to a personal revelation about songwriting and performing.
"When I started tapping into my own sensitivity, I started to understand people better. It was a direct result of writing songs," she said at the release of her first album. Co-founding an Atlanta-based independent music collective, her one-song turn on a locally released compilation led to a second-stage gig at Lilith Fair, where a Universal/Motown music scout spotted her and made an introduction to Motown CEO Kedar Massenburg. Sidestepping all the devices of flavor-of-the-month record-making, Acoustic Soul acquainted listeners with a brave and eloquent new voice, drawing an uncommonly broad swath of listeners from hip-hop, neo-soul, blues, folk and classic troubadour-style singer/songwriting, all at once. The album made an impressive No. 10 debut on the Billboard national album chart at its release in March, 2001 and within six weeks, without the concentrated radio play that typically powers pop and rap albums, Acoustic Soul was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 units. |
|
