India Arie
INDIA'S ACOUSTIC SOUL: PURE GOLD

Dee Dee McNeil -  

INDIA'S ACOUSTIC SOUL: PURE GOLD

By: Dee Dee McNeil

On Sunday, August 19th, India Arie will cradle her guitar in strong brown arms and open for Sade at the Palace of Auburn Hills. She is a talented, twenty-five-year-old Atlanta-based singer/songwriter, with roots in Detroit. Her father was born and raised in the Motor City and her mother, a Lansing native, used to be a singer herself during the popular era of Motown's heyday.

India told me, " ... My mom was a McMullen. ... she's from Lansing. My dad is from Detroit. He went to Pershing High School. They won the State Championship back in the 60's. His name is Ralph Simpson and he went to Michigan State and still holds (sports) records at his high school and college".

When India Arie's mother was sixteen, Motown offered her a record deal. I asked India what happened?

India: "Well, the label had thought she was too young, but the main reason she turned it (the MoTown record deal) down was because they originally wanted her just as a solo artist and they didn't want her band."

I asked Ms. Arie if the Motown sound has influenced her writing and performance style.

India: "The Motown sound is not an outside influence for me. It's who I am. My mom is the Motown sound, so that's the legacy - that's me. It's not a thing I learned from listening to records. ... Everything changes with time, but one thing that has remained the same. It‘s a label that still has the best of black music."

 
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