Rapsody 

Photo: Jose Gongora 

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Rapsody Honors Black Women's Past, Present And Future On 'EVE'

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On the rapper's third album, out now, she has a sonic conversation about black women's worth and resilience
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Sep 4, 2019 - 12:22 pm

Oprah, Maya, Serena, Michelle. These are just some of the black women, recognized by their first names alone in entertainment, sports, arts, politics and beyond, Rapsody recognizes on her third studio album, EVE. Over the course of 16 tracks, the GRAMMY-nominated rapper from North Carolina wants to show not only the strength and resilience black women hold, but that "black women come in a spectrum." 

 "I wanted to have a conversation," Rapsody tells the Recording Academy about speaking to black women through the album. "I wanted to write my letters to them to show that or remind us that we are beautiful, we are strong, that we are human."

EVE, the follow-up to 2017's Laila's Wisdom, which paid tribute to her grandmother, continues Rapsody's trajectory as one of hip-hop's most recognized and respected female voices. The Recording Academy spoke with the rapper about her album (out now via Roc Nation in partnership with Def Jam Recordings) about how black women are seen in society, how "IBTIHAJ" ​came about and more. 

EVE is not the first time you've paid tribute to women in the form of an album. Laila's Wisdom was named after your grandmother. Who are you paying tribute to on this album?

Leila's Wisdom was for me, and I wanted to make something that was more broad that all women could gravitate to and see themselves. I wanted to make something that showed that we're not monoliths, that black women come in a spectrum, that we have different flavors and styles and energy and it all should be celebrated and loved, and to show that even I am a reflection of so many different women. I'm inspired by so many different women I know, so many other black women. I learned motherly love from Phylicia Rashad, outside of my own mother and aunt.

I learned the power of words from Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou. It's examples like that. So I wanted to make a project that creatively told that story in this way. I probably recorded maybe 40 songs coming forth from this idea about 40 different women and I just would wake up every day and think of a different woman. And it was so much fun and so easy because I respect so many and I follow so many. We narrowed it down to the 16 that we have and that was based on sonics; how we wanted the album to sound, what songs sounded good together, but also for a wide range story. So that's kind of how we came to the project that we have now.

I mean, there's so many badass black women out there. How did you narrow it down to 16?

[Laughs.] It was so hard, believe me. I thought about doing a double disc. I thought about doing part one, part two, but I said in the world that we live in people can't consume that much music right now. They don't even have the attention span to. So once we found two songs that we really wanted to build around sound-wise, because when we make albums we make it off what sonically sounds good together, and that also doesn't repeat the same concepts that I did within the album, so I think we built around "OPRAH" and "SOJOURNER" and "AALIYAH." Those were the first three songs that we created that we knew we were going to keep for the album. And we built around what sounded good with those three songs.

That's kind of how we dwindled it down. And we might have two songs that told two different stories, but musically they sounded the same so we just had to pick which one we thought was the best one. But it was very difficult, though. But I think what we ended up with is variety. If you see music in colors, it's very colorful and a bunch of different colors. It shows the world of black women that I wanted to showcase. You're going to get the rowdy chick. You're going to get the introspective one. You're going to get the loving one. You're going to have songs about beauty. You're going to have songs that are political. So it just covered all the stories and energies that I wanted to showcase.

You named the album EVE. How come?

I wanted a title that represented black women. There's no one name that can tell the story of all these different women so I wanted to start with the first woman ever created, the mother of all living things, and that's Eve from the Bible. So that's why I chose Eve. God created man. He took a rib from him and blew life into a lung and He created the first woman and named her Eve. That is a reflection of who we are and where we come from and the beginning of women, giving birth to the world, nurturing the world, feeding the world through our bodies. So that's why I chose "EVE."

RELATED: Rapsody Reveals The Influential Black Women Behind Her New Album 'Eve' At ESSENCE Fest

Did you have an audience in mind when creating the album?

Yeah. Specifically, directly first I wanted to talk to black women. I wanted to have a conversation. I wanted to write my letters to them to show that or remind us that we are beautiful, we are strong, that we are human. It's okay to feel weak at times because we do carry so much and we have to go through so much. We have to fight so much, but we still persevere. So I wanted to talk to black women and black little girls, first and foremost. But then I wanted to talk to men to remind them why we should be loved, respected and protected, to remind them of their daughters, remind them of their sisters, their mothers, the women that are around them and to show them that at the core of who we are, you are this because of us.

Every man is raised by a strong woman. That's why I named the last song "AFENIA" but we kept it, we put the sample of 2Pac in it. We revere 2Pac and we love him for the man that he is, but he is who he is because he was raised by a strong black woman. And so those are the first two people I wanted to talk to. But I feel like no matter what race you are, what age group you are, what part of the world you are, this album will still resonate with you and you'll be inspired or feel something from it in some shape, form or fashion.

Do you feel like men have a role in uplifting black women?

I do. I think we have a role to each other. Women have a role to respect and love and uplift man and men should do the same for women. The men are the head of the household. I'm from the South, it's just one thing I believe. But it's for the man to protect the woman and to have her back and to love her and to be kind to her and to be patient and to step up for her in a time of need. Again, we deal with so much, having to bring life into this world, having to be the backbone when your man come home, especially black men from a long day of work and having to deal with the world, and how the world views black me, and how the black men is always on edge because of just everything that they have to deal with.

And it reminds me of a conversation that Nikki Giovanni had with James Baldwin. That section of where you hear Nikki expressing [something along the lines of,] "Well, you lie to the world all day. Why can't you lie to me?" The black man's saying, "Because I have to put on a front, because I have to hold everything in so long, you're the person that I could come to and let it all out and be myself." And it's just a powerful conversation, and I think it's important, that I want to make music that reflects both sides of that story. And at the end of the day we kind of have to be there for each other.

Do you feel the men have a role in uplifting women in the music industry?

Oh yeah, I definitely do. Especially as a female in hip-hop and coming up in this climate and we see how for me, our talent is looked at as less than because we're women, just the images that are portrayed and pushed to the forefront. So I think it's up to the men. It's a responsibility to have my back. And that's something men have been doing for me for my whole career. I was signed by 9th Wonder and Young Guru who believed in me, who felt like they didn't have to change my image and make me something that I wasn't just to fit up with what was trending or what was hot. Kendrick Lamar, he's been a supporter from day one. I'm the only feature on his second album, To Pimp A Butterfly, which is one of the most anticipated albums ever made.

Big K.R.I.T. has always been a supporter. He just recently hit me up to go on tour with him. Men have been supporting me my whole career. Jay-Z signed me. I'm the first female to be signed to Roc Nation and a lot of times men have stepped up for me more than women have at times. So it just shows when men step up and they're part of the conversation and they're part of the fight that we go through just to earn respect, it helps. In the same way, I would love to see the NBA players step up for the WNBA players when you talk about pay equality. It takes a village, not just gender. It takes everyone to create change and we should have that support.

"IBTIHAJ" came together in such a cool way. It features GZA and D'Angelo and it samples Wu-Tang. Tell me how that song came together. 

I was inspired to do it. One, from a Nicole Bus record called "You" where she actually used a old Wu-Tang sample the same way I did so I wanted something that felt like that for my album. And for whatever reason, myself and Nicole couldn't work, but 9th just went through a sample bank of a bunch of Wu Tang samples and he was like, "I'm going to do 'Liquid Swords,' just because how dope a song it was and what it meant for the time." And he just felt like that energy fit well with the album.They made the beat. It was crazy. I wrote to it and before we did anything, we had to reach out to GZA to ask for his blessing as a code of conduct because we are the culture and to also ask him to be on it because it just made sense.

It's probably his most popular song, so he agreed that we could even do the song and use the sample and that he would give us a verse. And while we were waiting on his verse we got a call, just trying to work out logistics and everything, getting GZA's verse recorded for the project. There was a person that was with D'Angelo, spoke about how D'Angelo was a fan of both myself and 9th and he thought that D'Angelo would really love the record.

So he wanted to play it for him and we told him we would love for him to. And he did. And D'Angelo connected with it so many other people because what that song meant when it came out for a lot of people, it connected a lot of people to a memory and the history that D'Angelo has with GZA and back then, the first time they did a song together, "Cold World," that's how much he loves Wu Tang. So for him the song inspired him in a way that he wanted to be a part of it and it just happened that naturally, just that organic and it came out to be a banger.

Malcolm X once said, "The most disrespected person in America is a black woman." Do you believe that still to be true today?

Yes, I do. That's one of the reasons I wanted to make this project.There's so much going on in the world: your gender, your race, your religion, so many factors. And black women are sometimes always at the bottom. Because we're women, we're looked at as less than because we're black, we're not respected, and then you have in your household we are the most disrespected, and sadly that's still true today. When I watch videos, black women having to fight for themselves and defend themselves and men are standing around in circles and just, it just never made sense to me.

They have to be the head of the household a lot of times and take up the slack and be the man or the woman. It's just a way harder fight than we expect, even in our image. There are a lot of times where our images are portrayed or taken by other people and they're looked at as being more beautiful when everyone else does. We used to get called ugly and talked about because we were thicker in our thighs and we had plumper, more beautiful lips. And the way we wore our hair, it was called "ghetto." But when other people do it that don't look like us in other races, it's called high fashion. And that's a disrespect. The way Serena Williams is treated sometimes in the tennis world, that's a disrespect that wouldn't necessarily happen if she wasn't a black woman. I definitely want to touch on that, and that's part of the reason I made the project.

What is the most empowering thing about being a black woman today for you?

For me the most empowering thing is our strength and our perseverance. No matter how much you disrespect us and how much you throw at us, we always find a way to thrive again. And that's embedded in our DNA because we've been doing it so long. Even in the political climate and time that we're in, a lot of black women are stepping up and saying we want change and we have to be that change, and I'm down for the cause. It's a powerful time that I love and appreciate. I always seen black women step up no matter how tired we get, no matter how much we continue to have to carry, no matter how many walls and doors get closed in our face, we don't give up. And that's powerful. And that's one thing that makes me proud to be a black woman and that I can stand on, something I can see when I was a little girl in my house with my mom and my aunt, to even in the world today that we live in. 

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Sebastian Yatra 

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Exclusive: Sebastian Yatra Teases 2019 Latin GRAMMY Performances & Reveals His Life's Purpose: "To Share Love With People"

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The Colombian singer/songwriter, nominated for Album Of The Year and Song Of The Year, is set to perform at the 20th Annual Latin GRAMMYs on Nov. 14 and at the Person Of The Year ceremony
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Nov 12, 2019 - 10:35 am

Rising in the international music world over the last few years, with the release of his 2018 debut MANTRA and 2019's FANTASIA, Sebastian Yatra has shown his vocal versatility, genre rule-breaking mentality and love for collaborations.

In his joint efforts with heavy hitters like Wisin, Carlos Vives and Maná, with whom he sings "No Ha Parado De LLover" (a remake of the iconic Mexican rock group's 1995 song), Yatra has embraced reggaeton, pop and rock ballads, and those are only a few of the genres that make up the Colombian-born, Miami-raised singer/songwriter's song collection. It's clear that Yatra isn't subscribing to one genre or sound on his way to the top—he already boasts Latin GRAMMY nominations (he was up for Best New Artist in 2018) and top spots on the Billboard 200 and Top Latin Albums charts. 

"I think genres are becoming less existent," he recently told the Recording Academy, just days ahead of the 2019 Latin GRAMMYs. "You see artists that are making all kinds of music. What we are making is good music, good songs."

It may be Yatra's gut feeling about good music that has earned him nominations in the major categories at the upcoming Latin GRAMMYs, airing on Univision Nov.14. The "Un Año" singer, who is also set to perform at the show and again at the Person Of The Year ceremony (honoring fellow Colombian singer Juanes), is up for Album Of The Year and Song Of The Year. He's also up for Best Pop Album.

The nomimations are something he still can't believe: "You tell me [I'm nominated], and it seems like a lie," he says humbly. 

Although still early in his career, ultimately Yatra wants to follow in the footsteps of some of Latin America's most romantic balladeers, including Sin Bandera and Camila, and chose his Latin GRAMMY-nominated album FANTASIA, filled with ballads about love, to showcase that.

The Recording Academy caught up with Yatra before the Latin GRAMMYs to talk more about his nominated album, his latest single with Maná, his nominations and performances, his sustainability docuseries El Poder De Los Centennials and more.

You covered "No Ha Parado De Llover" at Person of the Year a year ago. How was it for you to give new life to this song now with Maná?

It is the greatest honor for me to be next to my favorite band, which I think is the greatest Latin band in history. It is also a great learning experience for me because beyond being great musicians, they are even greater humans. For me, there are two iconic bands who are legends for Latinos: Maná and Soda Stereo.

Being able to live this experience with Maná is something that if you told me [would happen] five years ago, a year ago, I wouldn't believe it. Last year I had the opportunity to sing "No Ha Parado De Llover" in front of them at Person of the Year [and] you can't imagine how nervous and excited I was. We decided to put our touch on the song so that they would listen to something different from what they had already heard and what they had sung all their lives. Keeping the essence of the song, but putting a very personal touch of mine. I would never have imagined that they would like it so much, they would want to record it together. That is just what we did. The song is great, many people like it. I'm going to start playing it during my shows, of course. I love [the band] a lot and [they] are an example for me to follow in every way. I always keep in touch with Fher [Olvera] about life, we talk about God, talk about spirituality, talk about the way he sees things, which is very special.

As a singer-songwriter, what do you like about this song in particular?

There are many phrases in the song that are special. I like that it is a song that allows any performer to enjoy it because it has very singable melodies. It is one of those songs that is also objectively very good, but you also listen to it with all your heart. Because I grew up listening to this song, you put it on and I'm filled with beautiful nostalgia, it also reminds me of moments, it reminds me of people.

RELATED: 20th Latin GRAMMYs:  Alejandro And Vicente Fernandez, Sebastian Yatra And More Announced As Performers

You have several great musical collaborations. What do you like about singing with other artists?

I like that you have the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone, perhaps. When you sing alone, no matter how much you are inventing new things or experimenting, it's just your mind and the people with whom you're writing with, but when there is another voice, there is another way of interpreting, other sounds, and you mix that, something different always comes out, something that people have not heard before. [Something] innovative.

You're an artist who moves fluidly through genre and singing style. In your opinion, does genre still exist?

I think genres are becoming less existent. You see artists that are making all kinds of music. What we are making is good music, good songs. Be a ballad, be salsa, be reggaeton, be an opera, whatever it is. It is about understanding where one is doing well and where one can transmit and where one's essence is and where one feels comfortable and where perhaps not. I have explored many genres. There are some that have been better than others, but I always try to put my essence on the track, on the arrangement we are making.

This year, you're nominated for Latin GRAMMY Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year, Pop Album Of The Year. How are you feeling?

You tell me [I'm nominated], and it seems like a lie. Especially those two main categories, Album Of The Year and Song Of The Year. I made FANTASIA with the great hope that it would be an album that could remain in people's hearts for the rest of their lives. I think it's an album that people have listened to and have made songs their own. These songs can stay with them forever. It is an album made only of ballads, a big risk because we live in an era where what leads mainly is the urbano [genre].
 
These songs, thank God, are the ones that have really changed my life. Not only because they have helped my professional growth, but they have really helped me fulfill the purpose that I have in life, which is to share love with people, to generate something beautiful, to leave them something that unites them. Songs like"Un Año," songs like "Cristina," songs like "En Guerra," which is the official song of the foundation of Pope Francis and speaks to people with insecurities, who look in the mirror and only see imperfections, when none of that is imperfection, we are all perfect because God made us that way and we are all a piece of God.
 
Why take a risk with ballads?
 
It seems like a risk, but for me it was the opposite. It was not only being true to my essence and who I am, but the songs that I think have been the most successful in my career. For example, you listen to a song like "No Hay Nadie Mas," which I put out last year, and is a ballad with guitar and vocals, it has 750 million views on YouTube, a ballad. Those are numbers that one would never expect for a ballad. For example, the composer [Omar Alfanno] asked me, "Who wrote that song? 'No Hay Nadie Mas'?" And I said, "I wrote it." He said, "It can't be."
Seriously? I congratulate you."
 
For me, that song is like an infinite journey flying over the clouds. That those songs be the theme for people's marriages, be the songs they dedicate in their most important moments of life, be the songs that help them overcome a difficult situation, be songs that heal them. For example, "Un Año" with the whole theme of people who have had to leave their home. "En Guerra," "Cristina," for people with relationships that are impossible. Right now I just released "Oye" with my girlfriend TINI, and it is a song that is going spectacular, thank God.
 
It is also that kind of song that stays with people and follows them. It's like when you listen to Sin Bandera or Camila songs or Reik songs, Maná songs, Juanes songs, who this year is Person of the Year, and so many artists with those ballads, with those lyrics that in 20 years, 30 years we will continue listening and will continue to make us feel the same.

With everything happening in politics and with the environment, do you think that your songs can help people feel a little better?

I think so, and I think we are doing it. We are in a complicated moment for the whole world. In fact, I have just made a docuseries called El Poder De Los Centennials. I believe that as an artist one also has the responsibility and opportunity to reach people, not only through songs, but also through our words, day-to-day actions and the other things that one can do. This docuseries creates awareness for young people, for adults, and for all of us so we can work as a team to make this world more sustainable. That [we] can't only be aware that the world is going through a bad time, but that every day we do something as individuals to improve or not continue to be detrimental. It talks a lot about sustainability, I invite you to see it. It's something very nice that I did with [Colombian financial institution] Bancolombia.

Going back to the Latin GRAMMYs, what can you tell us about your performance?

I can tell you that I will be at Person Of The Year honoring Juanes. I will be singing, not once, but a couple of times at the awards show, so that has me stuck on the ceiling of happiness. [I'm] grateful to the Latin GRAMMYs who have supported us so much this year. Also with the Latin GRAMMYs foundation, which we have partnered with this year in several very special events. We gifted instruments to talented children in a school in Miami. The idea is to be able to continue growing with the Latin GRAMMYs over the years and to continue learning, and always [fostering] youth with respect towards music, towards the lyrics and trying to give them the best always.
 
Do you think you'll be nervous this year?
 
There are always nerves, always.
 
What are you up to after the Latin GRAMMYs?
 
I am finishing my tour this year, which is the Yatra Yatra Tour. It's been going spectacular, thank God. We did two sold-out dates at the National Auditorium in Mexico, a giant tour throughout Mexico. We have just finished four dates at Luna Park this year in Argentina, sold-out too, and many shows in South America. We did the sold-out Movistar Arena in Chile, the Antel Arena in Uruguay also sold out. It is very crazy that so many people make the effort to go to our shows and buy a ticket. I appreciate that from my soul and I also grateful to these ballads and these songs that are from the heart.
 
I was just in Colombia, in my country. I sang in La Macarena, my show also in Medellín, which was full. We did two full nights in Bogotá, at the Movistar Arena. We have also been to Ecuador, we have been with Nissan on the Road to Innovation Tour in the United States last week. I just arrived from Spain from some awards we had there with Los 40. The plan for the rest of the year is to go to Brazil for the first time to promote my music and a concert that I have there. I will be with several releases preparing the show next year, because I want to prepare a completely new show for next year.

This interview has been translated to English

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Ozzy Osbourne

Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

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Ozzy Osbourne Returns: Hear The First Song From His Upcoming 2020 Album

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The Ozzman cometh back with the first single off a new album he calls the "most important album I have done in a very long time"
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Nov 8, 2019 - 4:40 pm

Heavy metal forefather Ozzy Osbourne dropped a new single today, "Under the Graveyard," from his forthcoming 2020 ablum, Ordinary Man. Have a listen:

The song's acoustic guitars and eerie atmosphere underlie its tormented lyrics, exploding into a dark, pop hook before giving way to a Sabbath-esque shuffle breakdown, synth-guitar solo and epic final chorus round, where all the song's elements seem to close in on the listener ominously. 

The album will be Ozzy's first solo effort in almost a decade and first return to recording Black Sabbath's 2013 Rick Rubin-produced album, 13.

This time around, Osbourne worked with producer Andrew Watt, who also played guitars on the album. Guns 'N Roses' Duff McKagen handles bass on the album and Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith plays drums.

Osborne met Watt while working on Post Malone's "Take What You Want" from Malone's 2019 album Hollywood's Bleeding. The song also features Travis Scott., and Watt has also worked with artists such as Justin Bieber and Cardi B. The unlikely collaboration came at the suggestion of Osborne's daughter, Kelly, and even though Ozzy had not heard of the rapper, the song was a success and led to Osbourne and Watt collaborating on the upcoming nine-song album.

“This is quite possibly the most important album I have done in a very long time, probably since [1991's] No More Tears,” Osbourne said in a statement. One of its singles, “I Don’t Want to Change the World,” won a GRAMMY for Best Metal Performance With Vocal over 25 years ago. 

Ordinary Man is due out in early 2020. Ozzy will hit the road for his No More Tours 2 trek, which resumes in Europe in January before hitting the States May 27 in Atlanta with Judas Priest opening. For more info, visit Osbourne's website.

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Alejandra Guzman

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Alejandra Guzman On Her 30+ Year Career, Live Album At The Roxy And Writing Hits | Up Close And Personal

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The Mexican rock icon talks empowering women, working with Sebastian Krys and Desmond Child, career highlights and more...
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Nov 7, 2019 - 5:50 pm

Alejandra Guzman, one of Mexico's greatest living rock voices, continues her more than 30-year musical career with her latest release, Alejandra Guzman: Live At The Roxy, in which she pays homage to Spanish rock classics from Maná to Gustavo Cerati in Los Angeles, one of the unofficial Laitn captials of the country. 

The "Mirala Miralo" singer and showstopping performer, who was exposed to  music thanks to her father, Enrique Guzman, a rock and roll trailblazer in Mexico and an actor, chose the Roxy on the West Hollywood Sunset strip for its rock history. "The Roxy has a lot of stories," she tells the Recording Academy.

Up Close And Personal With Alejandra Guzman

The energetic Latin GRAMMY winner and GRAMMY nominee, known for her distinct voice, her rebellious allure, and unconventional fashion, has penned many of her own stories and has become one of the most iconic songwriters in Latin America, says she likes to write about what feels real to her, including her most challenging experiences. 

"I take the lessons of life and make them songs," she said. "I know it's a hit because I always cry."

Guzman got Up Close And Personal with the Recording Academy about why she chose Los Angeles to record her latest album, songwriting during some of the greatest and most challenging moments in her life, including her breast cancer diagnosis, empowering other women in the music industry, her rock influences and more. 

Your latest album, you recorded live at the Roxy. Why record your album in Los Angeles?
The Roxy has a lot of stories and I think that it's very intimate to play in. It was crazy because I had just had surgery and [producer] Sebastian Krys, called me [to ask,] "Do you want to do this? It's all rock and roll. We can pick whatever you like and we can do an album and a DVD and everything." It sounded so good that I just jumped from the bed and came. We rehearsed like one week, it was crazy. But I knew these songs before, so it was really crazy to leave Alejandra Guzmán on a side and be me, the one that started listening to music and was always in the mosh pit. I was always crazy, but I was 14 when this music was all over. So I love this album because I know some of the artists, I know Maná, I knew Charly García and I love him, Miguel Ríos, I saw [Gustavo] Cerati once, but I never meet him like a person. So I admire them and I think it's a good moment. I need rock and roll in my life.
 

You've been in this industry for more than 30 years. Tell me about when you've felt like a fan. 
I [was lucky] to open a concert for the Rolling Stones and I sang with James Brown once in a Hard Rock, and [also with] Rita Coolidge [and] Huey Lewis. I have had several moments in music with very special people. I used to [listen to] Eurythmics, Police, that kind of music ... Cyndi Lauper in the '80s. I think that those [artists you listen to when you're younger] stay in you as an influence. My father is also a rock and roll pioneer, he did "Hound Dog" in Spanish. So I always liked to play being the rockstar in front of the mirror and it became true. I mean, it was a dream. A dream come true. And I still get nervous before I go on stage. I like to do my makeup, I like to make my outfits sometimes ... it's part of what I have always wanted

You mention your dad, Enrique Guzman, a famous singer in Latin America. Was your first musical memory with him? 
Yeah, it was with him. Because I went to the theater and I learned the whole choreography, the songs, and they did a lot of musicals. Then I started doing theater with my mom, and all my sisters are actresses so I decided not to be another actress because I [would forget the script] and [would get] really nervous.
 
When you look back 30 years, what is one moment or something that you are most proud of?
That I did it. That I showed my mom and my dad that I was myself and that I didn't copy anybody. I'm a performer, not just a singer. And that's what I like. Every concert that I do, I like to sweat a lot because I give myself, all my soul to [the audience,] So I am proud of that. I'm proud of who I've [become], like a character, like I can [do anything.] You know, sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's not easy because of social media, it's changing everything. Also the industry has been changing. When I started it was ... vinyl, and then the CD, and then now there's no CDs anymore. So it's crazy.
 
You are an iconic songwriter. You have some of the most iconic songs in Mexico. When you're writing, how do you know when you're done with a song?
Well, I've always written with [other] people because I don't know how to play instruments, but I'm good at lyrics. So I like to listen to the melody or make some melody in my mind and talk about it with [who I'm working with.] For example, with Mario Domm, Camila, we did a great song "Volverte a Amar." He started playing the piano and I started crying. And that's how I know it's a hit because I always cry. And there are some moments in my life not, not as happy, you know? So I take the lessons of life and make them songs. That's a love song, but it's [also about] faith. Like maybe I'm going to love you again. You're the worst, but I'll call you again. It's [about] love and hate and really, you know, it's amor apache, [a destructive kind of love.] But it makes me feel something and most of my songs are real. "Hacer El Amor Con Otro," is a real song that happened to me ... And there's another one that I wrote because I am a breast cancer survivor. So in that moment when I knew that I had cancer, I wrote "Hasta El Final," which talks about how life is like a paper and that I was really afraid of it in that moment. But [that] was just the beginning, not the last part of my life. And there's another one that [I wrote when] I was pregnant and [called] "Yo Te Esperaba." So I wrote a letter to my baby, like, "I want to see your eyes and I'm waiting for the ring of your tone. And this is the best part of my life. I'm happy." Because I stopped ... Well, I tried to stop the big famous ... Craziness about fame. And it was the biggest moment in my career, so I decided to have my baby and [wrote] a song [about it.]
 
Then I did two albums with Desmond Child. Desmond Child, for me, is Desmond Child. You know, I love KISS and I love Aerosmith, and so I came and I said, "I want the world, please give it to me." (laughs) And we won the first Latin GRAMMY. I'm really grateful for him and he's my friend and I love him because he always told me, "Don't be a cookie, go for it." But he's a great producer ... He liked my lyrics so he gave me the [Latin] Songwriter Hall of Fame Award that I'm proud of having. And I did the [another called] "Suerte," and it talks about the love of the fans. I love them, but I love [they] love me back. And it's amazing when I sing it because everybody starts with the lights on their phone and it becomes a sky, you know? And I still rock. I have two hip replacements and I still go and dance and jump. My doctor hates me because of that, but I don't care.
 
 
What keeps you going?
Music. My passion for dancing. I'm happy when I dance, I think is better than a therapeutic thing. For me it's therapeutic because it helps me. And [when] I dance and I'm free, I can do anything. I can eat anything. I'm thin. I work with my brain, with two parts of my brain, and it's artistic. So I keep on doing it.
 
I saw a little bit of your Roxy performance and I noticed that you feature a lot of women musicians. Is that on purpose?
Of course. We need woman power. We need to embrace ourselves and I think this is the moment. And Sebastian Krys, that is a producer, also Juan de Dios, that is the guy that helped us to put it together, and I think it's amazing because it's like a band. I didn't feel like Alejandra Guzmán, like always that I'm just in the front. But [on] stage ... Whomever wants to have fun with me, I'm happy because that's for them. You know, I want everybody to have fun with me.
 
But you think it's important for women to give other women opportunities in the business?
Yes. Also from [Mexico's] The Voice, I picked the girl. She didn't win, but I gave her the opportunity to [sing] with me. It's crazy, but I would like somebody to [have done] that for me if possible. So I do it because I can. I like to help young people and the opportunities are less now. There's a lot of computers and things, but I think we need more artists, real artists, [well-rounded artists.] Because I've always seen in musicals that they know how to act and sing and dance. So for me, a good performer, can do all of them together.

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Sudan Archives 

Photo: Alex Black 

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Sudan Archives Talks Mystery, Representation & Embracing Duality On 'Athena'

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The Los Angeles-based experimental violinist and vocalist shares the roots of her African influences and the stories behind her debut album, 'Athena'
Lior Phillips
GRAMMYs
Nov 1, 2019 - 3:49 pm

Singer/violinist Brittney Denise Parks, better known as Sudan Archives, is re-imagining the perception of ancient godesses on her debut album, Athena.

"I was looking at a sculpture of Athena, the Greek goddess, and I thought to myself, "Why can’t she look like me?" Parks asks. There's a complexity to the simple question—there are worlds and centuries apart, but when one rises to a place of pure expression, everything else falls away. Parks isn't settling for reflections of whiteness; she wants to see herself. On her album cover she brings her own vision to life; displayed like an ancient European statue, she stands powerfully wearing only her skin and holding a violin high like as if on a silver platter.

"I would see a lot of sculptures while travelling, but I would never see people that look like me," she says."I knew I wanted to make a point about the lack of representation."  

The Los Angeles-based artist also reaches back through time with her music, tapping into a deep vein of emotion that ties together myriad traditions and histories. A trained violinist, Parks pays tribute to Sudanese fiddlers and fuses traditional strings with electronic beats, tight R&B harmonies and dozens of other signposts—but somehow the final blend shines with an aura far more than the sum of its parts. Using Greek mythology to make a statement about representation, Athena fits alongside her musical experimentation, interweaving flashes of classical violin and West African string traditions. Athena further mines the mystic depth of her first EPs, expanding the sense of archetype. 

From the mesmeric opener "Did You Know?" Parks unfurls a silvery memoir of sorts. The album is full of duality; lyrically, she gives intimate detail, but sometimes they're sketching iridescent clouds. The compositions are intensely evocative, but there’s a constant drive to seek out the new, to explore every corner. 

Parks spoke with the Recording Academy about growing her own musical voice out of roots in the church ensemble and an ill-fated pop duo with her twin sister, how her pet snake exemplifies her mysterious persona and learning to lead in the studio to complete her thrilling debut.

The album immediately makes a powerful statement from the cover. You look mighty and powerful, despite being naked and seemingly vulnerable. You're this art object taken in by the viewer, but also commanding and dominating the frame, in control. Tell me about the concept behind the album and how that relates to the concept of the album.

Before the album was done, I knew that I wanted to be a statue. I had a mood board with a lot of statues, specifically these green statues, and they all had the same background. We even decided not to use text on the cover to make it feel like you’re walking past it in a museum. I wanted to have this Baroque feeling. I would see a lot of sculptures while travelling, but I would never see people that look like me. I knew I wanted to make a point about the lack of representation. Also, I was looking at this album cover right now by Francis Bebey. There's this naked lady on the cover, and she's holding a lot of stuff on her head. It has a very similar pose, and I'm just now connecting the two.

Yes, African Electronic Music 1975-1982. She just looks so happy.

Yes, she looks really happy.

I know that Bebey is a big influence on you musically, as well as Ghanaian one-string fiddling. Looking at yourself in that context, as an artwork that can be also judged—were you prepared for that?

A lot of the album has this sense of confrontation and the way I tell stories is a little more upfront. The idea of being a statue and naked and in a museum, it sets up almost that same way.

It made me think of the song on Athena called "Green Eyes", where you sing, "Just feel it, don't fight it." A lot of artists struggle with putting themselves out there while simultaneously keeping a little bit for themselves. Do you feel like this album has allowed you to look at what you've done and really see how you've grown?

Definitely. The EPs before this are bodies of work, but there's something about a first album—it gets more reviews and more critique. You're taken a little more seriously, and maybe even judged a little more.

How have you evolved as a songwriter, singer, and violinist? 

I’m not a hermit anymore. I can go into a studio with ideas and build those ideas with other people. Things just never turned out the way I wanted them to. But now my collaborators can help me get there faster because I'm just a better communicator.

From the first trickles of music onto the internet, there seemed to be this mystery embedded in the project, but it never felt like you were intentionally cultivating it. In fact, your voice is so open and emotionally present. What do you think creates that feeling of enigma?

People think that about me in real life, not even just listening to my music. I really am trying to figure out what makes me seem mysterious. I have this pet snake and he's kind of mysterious. I think he's just like that because of his personality. He's really just shy. That might have something to do with why people think I'm mysterious. Maybe it's just my nature. I'm kind of reserved naturally.

As a child, you and your twin sister were working for a time towards a pop duo, guided by your father⁠—but that also you would miss rehearsals and the like. Did you immediately see music an exploration of  your own identity?  

Yeah, but I had to fall in love with it in my own way. The way that my step dad thought it should be sounded crazy to me because he had a really high expectation and a certain type of musician that he wanted us to be. He used to work with musicians like Babyface back in the day, so he just had a certain way to make things happen. He would say things like, "Yeah, you guys are gonna be as big as Justin Bieber." And when he'd say stuff like that to me, I would be like, "That's not true. Why are you lying?" I didn’t want to be as big as Justin Bieber. I just don't see my career being that big. I saw my career being something that's more of a hobby even. I just didn't like all the pressure at the time. I don't think I knew what I wanted to do yet, but I knew what I didn't like. So just imagine someone trying to help you and putting all this effort in, but you're being hard to work with, you're being rebellious and ungrateful. I had to fall in love with music in my own way. Sometimes I would pretend that I was working at McDonald's on night shift just so I could be out later, past curfew. But I would actually go out to electronic shows, multi-instrumentalist producers and artists. And that's where I started learning about the electronic music scene.

The album opens with pizzicato picking and what could be a statement of strength, but has this past tense twist: "When I was a little girl, I thought I could rule the world." That realization that life wasn't perfect. How did you get the confidence to find out what you wanted to do?

I was always playing violin in the church choir. That gave me a lot of confidence and the skill to play by ear. Once you figure out how to play by ear, you can do anything because you can just pick up any instrument. It may take you hours, but you basically can figure out the exact pattern and notes that you want. So I started to just mess around with iPad apps, GarageBand and stuff, where you're able to record your voice and the violin and add drums and piano. Being able to do that all on my own, it made me feel like that's the route I wanted to take.

What has been the biggest shift in your process for this album?

I wanted to work with other people and to have a clear theme, like the rap albums that I listened to when I was younger. I remember listening to lots of Outkast and Kanye West, and they always had strong themes and interludes that would weave in and out of the album. I just knew that I wanted my album to have that kind of theatrics.

You worked with a rather interesting trio of producers: Washed Out, Paul White, Rodaidh McDonald. While they're not from completely different worlds, each has their own style. How did you so successfully bring these disparate ideas together?

Some people already had a production beat and then on top of that I added more production, more of my style, more violin. And then some of the tracks we started together, putting the idea together from scratch. Some ideas were demos that were already simmering for a long time but just needed lyrics. I worked on storytelling with this writer, James McCall. It was cool to write with someone like that, someone who has a history with the LA beat scene. In San Diego, this producer, Andre Elias, he wrote "Green Eyes" with me. That got revamped probably 10 times. I sent this one idea to Los Retros, this young artist on Stones Throw, and he revamped it and made it sound more jazzier—and that became the interlude and outro of "Limitless". He gave it this old soul feel, this Erykah Badu feel.

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The album is so driven on duality. When did you first really feel that complexity?

When I was listening back to songs, some of them started to feel like younger versions of me. Some of them really were, because they were demos that I decided to actually finish. For example, "Pelicans in the Summer," the verses come from a demo that was made years ago, but then the hook is a new addition to that. I made the song “Did You Know” when I was 15 or 16. Since the album is supposed to be like a biography, it probably should start at that time.

I was trying to figure out why they sound so different from each other, and that's when it clicked that the album is driven by duality. Maybe it's a battle between a younger version of me and a more mature version of me, confronting issues between.

"Glorious" is a standout track towards the end of the album, which would make it closer to today biographically. It’s a great example of seamlessly fusing a simple but affecting string pattern with a tight beat and harmonies, almost distilling your aesthetic into bite-sized chunk.

I made that song with Wilma Archer and James McCall. It it was a last-minute session, since James lives in London and he was in town. And I think that's toward the end of the album because it was made most recently and after all of the conflict, it's a reminder to just focus on your family and your loved ones.

We talked about Francis Bebey earlier and getting inspiration from African artists. What did those artists unlock in your story?

One of the issues I'm talking about on the album is colorism and how sometimes you're judged by just the color of your skin. Those artists inspired me so much because growing up I was always the only black violinist at school or in a music program. I felt like a black sheep. When I discovered all of the African artists and people around the world playing the violin in their own way—it just does something to you when you're little and you see people that look more like you. Erykah Badu, Brandy, dark-skinned beautiful black women—they did a lot for me too, even though they weren't violin players. People that look like you when you're younger is really needed because it pushes you to keep doing what you're doing.

It doesn't really make sense not to have meaning for your work. That's probably why I didn't want to do the pop duo thing: it didn't have meaning. But once I found meaning and purpose, I was able to go in and focus.

What were the things that really surprised you about this album and going through the process of an autobiographical story about your life?

I learned that it's okay to just embrace all the sides of you. Sometimes things aren't really going to make sense at a certain time, but it doesn't mean you're going the wrong way. You might just have to go through some times that don't make sense at all until you get to the finish line.