Music Guitarist Bongo drummer Pianist Singer Session Player art(draw, paint portraits) design hair Potential Jobs
photographer
art teacher
songwriter
instrumentalist
instrumental teacher
music producer
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Instagram(Gallery presenting my work, contact details and videos)
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Songwriter/Music Producer
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Critical Analysis I performed 3 originals in the summer gig for my end of year project. I am comparing my work to India Arie, because I wanted to relate to an artist who performs vocally as well as instrumentally, and who is also part of the neo soul genre. I believe India Aries stage presence is more exciting and upbeat then my performances, because she has more experience and confidence. I am also still developing as an artist and need to improve on my performance skills . I believe I Lack the ability to be confident on stage which also affects the way I perform instrumentally. Most occasion I'm unable to perform to my full potential because I'm either nervous or not prepared to my fullest. I believe India Arie is more experienced on stage as well as on the guitar.
Overall Im not satisfied with my performance mainly because I allowed my nerves to control what I gave to the audience, which wasn't to my full potential. I believe that I am nowhere near India Arie as an artist because I have so much to develop and learn in music. I believe that my music relates more to the neo soul genre because I was able to incorporate certain factors from the genre within my music. I think I would like to relate my music to artist such as Lauryn Hill, Erykah badu and India Arie because I was influenced mainly on their songwriting techniques and instrumentation. I struggled with performing live vocally and instrumentally at the same time because my low self-esteem restricted me to do as good as I could. I would like to be more lively and confident on stage, as well as be more strong vocally, so I won't rely heavily on backing vocals. In the future I would include more instruments, improve the harmonise and change my playing techniques on the guitar. To develop my confidence I believe in future performances I should consider doing solo for certain songs, to boost my confidence and have more faith in myself.
I believe that India Arie improvises more with guitar, but on the other hand I restricted myself from doing that because I am not as skilled as her, as well as I am frightened that it wont be as successful. India vocally wasn't as strong to her full potential most likely because she was a little nervous. Her performance was more upbeat then mine because she was confident and the type of vibes she created with her music impressed the audience. I relied Alot on my backing vocals where as India was just used her voice and the guitar. I believe that I have the potential to be on the same level as India Arie, but right now I still have a lot to learn practically and theoretically.
Research
The key areas of my research are finding out the backstory, production and songwriting techniques of musicians in the neo soul genre. for my research methods I used primary and secondary research. Primary Research
For my Primary research I decided to do a interview with people who witnessed my performance, and had also listened to my original songs before hand. I also wrote question on how I should improve in the future and their opinion of my overall performances and songs. Secondary Research
My secondary research was based on artist that I was influenced throughout the whole project such as Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and India Arie. I wrote about their background, my opinion about their songwriting techniques, and how their music and first albums influenced me.
I have been able to include certain factors of my research into my music such as influential Poems, Songwriting techniques and instrumentation. The poem that influenced my original song African Queen was phenomenal woman by Maya Angelo. Overall the poem talks about how Maya Angelo embraces her female beauty, not only through her physical appearance, but through her knowledge and intelligence. I included those factors but instead of talking about women as a gender, I wrote about African females. I wanted to embrace African beauty and show how strong and powerful they are. Black woman have been degraded for centuries and still to this day, so I wanted to bring knowledge through my music, so others can learn to love themselves for who they are. Songs such as on & on By Erykah Badu, Doo Wop By Lauryn Hill and video By India Arie are my main influences for my the creation of my lyrics. My work has not been completed sufficiently because I wasn't able to organise as great as I should . I wanted to create an EP as well as create a band so I could perform it live, but there wasn't enough time to do both at the same time. I also wanted to experiment much more with my music but I wasn't able to do that because, I was frightened that I might over complicate things and fail to reach my goal. I believe that my research is good and I don't need to include anymore. The only thing is that I believe that I should have been more thorough with my research. I have learnt that I should include more instruments and be more confident in my practical as well as experimentation. I have also learn that I should organise my time better In the future.
Technical practical skills
Songs such as Video By India Arie and come to the light By Jill Scott, influenced guitar techniques I used such as plucking,Hammer on and strumming. Songs like Doo wop by Lauryn hill, Apple tree By Erykah badu and video By India Arie are my main influenced the creation of my lyrics. All these songs are similar in the sense that they all talk about something that is inspirational, or you are able learn from them. In the song Doo Wop By Lauryn Hill It talks about how women pretend to be something they are not, just to be accepted by men as well as in society. In my song free I talk about how I want somebody to love me no matter what anybody thinks. I also talk about how I want to be 'free like the air and see' because they are not judged by nothing and no one. In video By India Arie It talks about how women should embrace their inner beauty, and should love themselves no matter society thinks of them. In My song African Queen I tried to include similar factors but my song was about African women and how special they are not just physically but mentally. In my music the main word I wanted the audience to connect with was love, because I wanted to show how love can be powerful in different ways.
In the beginning of the course I wasn't able to perform in front of anyone and I used to hide behind the singers, because I didn't want nobody to see me. I believe my instrumental techniques and vocals have improved since the beginning of the course. I am also capable of playing and singing at the same time. I believe that my performance has greatly improved over the last year, but I believe there is still much progress to be made with my confidence and performance skills.
Project management/ working methods I struggled with organisation, experimentation and Creating a structure with my band. My
organisation skills wasn't the best, as it was my first time structuring a band. I wasn't able to do much experimentation because I was frightened that if I spent too much time trying to change my music, it might not be as successful as I would want it to be. I believe that I completed what I wanted to include within my research, but I also believe I could researched deeper into the artist I chose. I believe that it was a constant rush to complete a large amount of work in a short amount of time, That is the reason why I decided not to create an EP while forming a band because I believed that the ending result wouldn't be as amazing as it should be. On a daily basis my band and I would perform and practice to make sure everything is up to scratch. we would also work out the issue as long as we could until we figured it out. Collaboration
Amina Saasaa was the bass player of the group, Morgan Lundy was the drummer, Kessana Bryan and Sade Joseph were the backing vocals of the group. I did have more collaborators before but I had to drop i few people out, because they were not reliable or I had too many people. It was great a experience to collaborate with these people. It was also interesting how I could combine people with different views in music, and fuse their techniques with mine. With any group you will have disagreements, but we would always have a solutions for our issues.we would spend at least 10-15 minutes in the beginning of our practice time to ask people in our group what we need to change, and whether they feel comfortable with what they are doing
The reason why I was influenced by this poem is because Angelo tried to explain that their is more to beauty than physical appearance. I believe that this poem gives hope to large amount of woman who have insecurities about themselves, hence the reason why I created a song about African beauty called african Queen. I wanted a bring message across, that no matter what society thinks of you are still beautiful deeper than you can imagine. As a race coulored people have been exploited, trodden upon and abused, so I wanted to signify that African beauty is pure and it's a type of beauty that can't be defined with words. I also believe the hardship coulored females have been through over the centuries proves how strong and undefeatable we are. Through social media, religion and academics couloured people especially people of African heritage, have been precieved as something negtive. So within my song Africaan queen i wanted to promote black people as a sign of positvity, to bring hope and courage to my race.
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me. PRIMARY RESEARCH Questions
What are the positive and negative things about my songs?
What should I include into my songs to make it more developed?
What were the pros and cons of my performance?
How could I have improved my performance?
Videos
In This interview Erykah Badu is talking about the music industry, working with J Dilla, Creating her Debut album Baduizm and how Her music has developed over the years. Erykah also gives her opinion about the music industry. This interview benefited me because I was able to understand the meaing of her music in a more clearer understanding.
In this interview Hill is talking about the creation of her Debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It also talks about the issues that she had to deal with within the music industry. Hill talks about her life situation that allowed her to create the album.
This video is explains the deeper meaning behind the album Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It talks about the true messages that was meant to be sent to society and the youth at the time. Listening Diary
India Arie is an African american Neo soul, soul artist, music produce who gained worldwide popularity in the 2000s. I was influenced by this song because of her guitar techniques, singing technique and lyrics.
"I'm not the average girl from your video And I ain't built like a supermodel But I learned to love myself unconditionally" (Simpson, 2001). In thelyrics she embraces people to love themselves no matter what anybody thinks of you because nobody is perfect. she tries to persuade people to believe that the imperfection of your body define your true beauty, because it makes you unique, hence why her songwriting techniques influence me to create African queen.
Arie singing technique are simplistic as she doesn't include a lot of effort in her singing , which I find relaxing and unique. I wanted to include that in my songs.
I wanted my drums for my songs to be similar to this dum machine. The song has contrasted elements from different genres to create one unique sound, and thats is what I wanted to do with my original songs.
I was influenced by this song because of the plucking technique used within the song, as well as the whole vibe of the song. I also wanted my songs to be acoustic so it sounds raw and unique.
I was influenced by this song because she used conscious lyrics to explain the message she was trying to give across. This was one of the song that inspired me to create my original song African queen.
The reason I was inspired by this song is because of the lyrical content, I enjoy the way it is catchy and also tells a story the same time.
The Editors of encyclopaedia Britnncia (10-19-2014) ERYKAH BADU AMERICAN SINGER SONGWRITER (online)
available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erykah-Badu (accessed 28/4/17)
By Mark Edward Nero Updated March 26, 2017 WHAT IS NEO SOUL? (online)
available at:https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-neo-soul-2851222(28/4/17)
By Carvell Wallace Contributor (July 10 2016 )Lauryn HillThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (online) available at: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22035-the-miseducation-of-lauryn-hill/ By john duffy Acoustic soul- India rie (online) available at:http://www.allmusic.com/album/acoustic-soul-mw0000001036 (accessed 1st june 2017)
by wikipedia (28 May 2017, at 02:08) Baduizm(online)available at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baduizm (accessed 1st june 2017)
Biography.com Editors (online)available at: https://www.biography.com/people/erykah-badu-21358393 (accessed 1st june 2017)
by wikipedia (online)available at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauryn_Hill (accessed 1st june 2017)
by wikipedia (online)available at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_Arie (accessed 1st june 2017)
by India Arie(online)available at:https://www.soulbird.com/ (accessed 1st june 2017)
by wikipedia (online)available at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_Soul (accessed 1st june 2017)
by John Duffy (online)available at:http://www.allmusic.com/album/acoustic-soul-mw0000001036 (accessed 1st june 2017)
CASE STUDY
For my case study I will be researching about the Neo-soul genre , including the artist who are within the genre . The artist I have chosen are Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu.
ABOUT NEO-SOUl
Neo-soul is a genre that was first introduced in the late 1980s early 1990s by kedar Massenburg,who wanted to create a new genre that combined both contemporary R&B and soul together. This genre also include other elements from different genres such as ; African music, funk, jazz, and Hip hop. Neo soul artist are also well known for their spiritual concious lyrics and large female appearances. The genre began gaining a large amount of popularity in the early 90s with new upcoming artist such as Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, D'angelo, And Maxwell etc. Since Neo soul mainstream popularity its diversity has rapidly increased over the years both in America and internationally. But since the Early 2000s its popularity has declined.
By wikipedia (3/5/17) available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_soul (accessed 28/5/17)
ARTISTS
Erykah Badu: Erykah Badu is a African American singer songwriter, record producer, activist and actress. Erykah became popular after she opened a show for D'angelo in 1994. Kedar Massenburg an American record producer witnessed her appearance at the show and was impressed by her performance, so he instantly signed her to his record company called Kedar entertainment. Badu first album was released on 11th February in 1997 and it was called Baduizm. Baduizm
Erykah debut album Baduizm gained a large amount of popularity with big hits such as On&On,Apple tree and Next lifetime.The same year Badu won 2 Grammy awards for best R&B album and best female R&B vocal performance. the recording of this album began in september to October of 1996. Erykah Badu did the Leading, and backing vocals of most of her songs as wells playing the keyboard, drum machine and other music programming. Ike lee, The Roots, Bob Power, Madukwu Chinwah, Tone the backbone, and JaBorn Jamal etc, are some producers and instrumentalists who helped with the creation of Baduizm What song influence you with your own music? The songs that have influenced me from the Baduizm album is On &On and Apple tree. The reason why these 2 songs have influenced me is because they sound diverse because Badu has included certain elements from different genres such as funk, hip hop and soul. Lyrically her music is interesting because she includes a certain amount of knowledge within her music, so you can both learn and enjoy at the same time. her songwriting techniques are also really unique because she design them in a way as if she is telling you a bedtime story or a poem. Badu lyrics are also repetitive and catchy, I believe she does this to allow the listeners understand the message she is trying to give out. I have tried to include these factors within my music for example, in my original African Queen I have continuously repeated phrases such as "Your the African Queen In your heart, Your the African in your soul" and "Your body is a temple of knowledge", to make the audience understand the message I'm giving out. The instruments i have used are mainly acoustic, but I have used a drum machine to make it sound more modern. Within My music I have also tried to include knowledgable quotes for example (African queen) "Your body is a temple of knowledge" is an ancient Egyptian proverb. I included this quote to allow the audience to understand that your body is more powerful than what you believe. I had also included words such as "dipped in chocolate" and "bronzed by the sun". What makes Badu special to you? I see Erykah as an Afrocentric, unique charcter. She is very knowledable about who she is and her history. I love the her songwriting techniques , and the way she intertwines knowledge within her music,so audience is able to learn and enjoy the music at the same time.
The Editors of encyclopaedia Britnncia (10-19-2014) ERYKAH BADU AMERICAN SINGER SONGWRITER (online)
available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erykah-Badu (accessed 28/5/17)
By Wikipedia (28/5/17) Baduizm (Online) Available at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baduizm (Accessed 1/6/17)
Lauyn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an African American singer songwriter, record producer and actress. When Lauryn was in middle school she sang the Star-Spangled Banner In a basketball game, it caught a lot of attention and was used as a video in many other games afterwards. 1988 She had also entered into an ameture night contestant at apollo singing Smokey Robinson who's lovin you. It didn't so great for Lauryn as she ended getting booed off stage.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hills debut Album was Released in August 25th 1998, it earned 10 nomination and won 5 awards it also sold over 8 million copies in America and 19 million would wide. The reason why i am inspired by this album is because of the Hill was able to include her opinions and knowledge about the world. In an interview years later Lauryn had said."When some women are pregnant, their hair and their nails grow, but for me it was my mind and ability to create. I had the desire to write in a capacity that I hadn't done in a while. I don't know if it's a hormonal or emotional thing ... I was very in touch with my feelings at the time." By wikipedia (Background) The miseducation of Lauryn Hill (3 May 2017, at 19:36.) available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Miseducation_of_Lauryn_Hill (2/5/17). The songs that i am influenced by from this album are Doo Wop ( That Thing), and Nothing even matters (D'angelo). Lyrically these songs are very powerful , especially "doo wop as she talks how women should respect themselves much more than they do. For my songs I wanted to create songs about love and embracing who you are, these two songs where some of the songs I listened too to create my originals.
By Carvell Wallace Contributor (July 10 2016 )Lauryn HillThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (online) available at: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22035-the-miseducation-of-lauryn-hill/
by wikipedia (1/6/17) (online)available at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauryn_Hill (accessed 1st june 2017)
By wikipedia (28/6/17) available at :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Miseducation_of_Lauryn_Hill
