So I was flippin through AIM profiles today and came across someone quoting that India.Arie song where she talks about how she’s not her hair and all that good stuff.
She’s also not very talented. Whenever people talk to me about India.Arie, they always talk about how she says things that need to be said. We love that. We respect that. However, doesn’t anyone notice that what she says is heavy handed and written with minimal skill? (This applies to Alicia Keys somewhat, too. Couldn’t write her way out of a paper bag.)
I am not my hair! I’m not a girl in a video! I’m a queen!
(First of all, she’s not a queen and neither are you. I ain’t no king and neither is anyone I know. But that’s another post for another day.)
I guess I understand that women are forced to deal with so many negative images of themselves that there’s some measure of empowerment that comes from someone blatantly rejecting that stuff. However, that doesn’t mean that her music is any good. And her voice is, at best, capable.
(This also doesn’t mean that her music’s all bad. I think “Brown Skin” is incredible and I have good things to say about “Ready for Love.” “Video?” Shoot me before you make me listen to it again.)
So without talking about the positive qualities of her music, could someone please tell me what there is about India.Arie that deserves anyone’s attention?
Cuz if that’s all you’ve got, I need a record deal. My first single will be, “Don’t Be Tryin’ to Sell Me That Crack!” Guaranteed to be critically acclaimed by the green tea crowd.
Either way, someone please enlighten me. It’s not just that I don’t dig her stuff. I’m just at a bit of a loss when trying to understand what other people see.
24 thoughts on “Why Do People Like India.Arie?”
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oh you talking about ol girl with the “put it in ya mouth” beat?
yeah, she wack
but i think she, like alicia keys for that matter, is the result of a brilliant marketing mind.
keys is more talented, sure, but both of them show that backlash can be lucrative
Can’t answer your question, just want to say that you are one funny dude. I laughed out loud when I saw the title. A blanket rejection of all that’s “negative” only leaves room for a very limited notion of “positivity”, or what it means to be a “strong black woman”, or a “queen”, etc. But hey, I could have been in Too Short video, so what do I know?
Don’t forget your b-side, “Stop Pimpin’ Them Hoes”. I smell a hit!
People like her for the same reason they like all mediocre to wack artists: bad taste/low standards and image
(Dark skin+headwrap+cowrie shells+fake kinte cloth =”conscious”= buppie boho $$$$).
It’s incredible how much people’s musical tastes are based on what artists looks like, how they dress, where they are from, etc. It afflicts indie/underground champions and pop fans alike.
And I hear you on the king/queen nonsense. Just practically speaking, there is a miniscule chance that any person descends from royalty. The very concept of royalty is EXCLUSIVE! If you’re gonna play that silly game, it would be more accurate to say that you descend from commoners.
Aden, I’m feelin you on the marketing angle with these artists. We can throw Macy Gray in that category as well. She just might have the worst voice I’ve ever heard; however, she did provide us all with one great public service..
“Oh, shit! It’s Macy Gray with porkchop sideburns” – Conspiracy Brother.
Classic.
I agree with you all in regard to all the marketing rigamarole that gets musicians out there. When I first heard India.Arie, I had no idea what she looked like or how she dressed. I think what I liked about some of her stuff (I certainly don’t like all of it) is that when I heard it it sounded like something “comfortable”. It’s kind of common sense stuff. I don’t really think she’s trying to be a songwriter for the ages or incredibly witty. These are just lighthearted songs, nothing more. I also think people may be taking that “queen” reference a bit too literally. Maybe she’s just trying to say, “Feel good about yourself; see yourself the way a queen would see herself”.
eauhellzgnaw wrote:
It’s incredible how much people’s musical tastes are based on what artists looks like, how they dress, where they are from, etc. It afflicts indie/underground champions and pop fans alike.
You just described most of the artists out there these days with style over substance… Destiny’s Child/Beyonce, Britney, Jessica, et al., are the epitome of this.
I respect India.Arie for being basic and raw. Same with Lauren Hill when she went acoustic, but was hammered by the press because of her guitar skills.
I really think the late-60s/early-70s were the hey dey of quality music. You can’t beat all that hippie music from CSN, The Beatles, etc., nor the true R&B stylings of Motown artists like Marvin, Gladys and little Michael.
Jeez, I’m turning into a crotchety old man at 40!
Oh, and I know I’m gonna get some flack for lumping Beyonce in with those “others,” but her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. All those runs… Just sing.
Okay, so it looks like I’m going to be the odd woman out here.
At the risk of being branded a “buppie boho” (insert eye roll here), I dig India.Arie’s music. Acoustic Soul was one of the trademark albums of my first year in college, anchored by Ready for Love and Brown Skin, but also supported by songs like Beautiful and Strength, Courage and Wisdom.
Admittedly, at first I was unimpressed with Voyage to India, but a few of those songs are in heavy rotation in the iPod, too (Good Man, Beautiful Surprise, etc.).
I’m looking through the comments, and most of the negative ones seem to be from guys. Maybe that’s why you don’t get it. Maybe it’s a woman thing. Maybe it’s even a Black woman thing. Maybe, with all of the negative imagery out there, it’s nice to be able to listen to someone articulate an experience for us that’s positive. Her songs are about self-love, and that message never gets old, is never irrelevant.
So she doesn’t have the most soaring soprano out there. So her lyrics can even be “heavy handed”. Who cares? All I know is that when I’m having a bad day, like an “I-can’t-handle-this-at-all-what-the-hell-was-I-thinking” kind of day, I can pop in some India.Arie and she makes me feel better.
And isn’t that why we listen to music in the first place?
I know for fact there are a few women not into her. Please step up instead of telling me on the low.
Well….if music was only about saying something positive, then a lot more people would have record deals. Music should be about artistic talent,and although that is subjective (of course) and for me, a ‘positive message’ is nice but at a distant second in terms of importance. If we talk about Aretha or Prince, thoughts of ‘positivity’ don’t even enter the discussion–so why is it that India’s positivity, rather than her music talent takes center stage? And so, while India’s message of self-love is much appreciated (by this particular Black woman), just because a message is positive doesn’t mean the music itself is good. (You only have to listen to a contemporary gospel station for 15 minutes to know that.) I think true artistry is about taking what might be a familiar theme and creating something different. India doesn’t really do that–and so her music isn’t as interesting as it could be, and the positive theme gets old.
i had this conversation with someone last week. india’s lyrics aren’t really slick. she doesn’t hide the message. she hits you over the head with them. so many women have embraced ” i am not my hair” because of negative stereotypes and they finally feel like they have an anthem. at least someone is saying it. do i like every song? no. i rather listen to her than beyonce. i can’t relate to her.
i see india as a representive “natural woman”. i hated when she cut her locs. but then again, i was kinda glad because i got tired of folk calling me india.arie because of my locs.
I like her. I like her voice and her lyrics, even if they are a bit “overly-earnest”at times. But sometimes you need somebody who is going to sing to you about something other than being a “Naughty Girl” or “Getting Some Head”. Plus I think her words define certain experiences that we as black women have and relate to.
Is she going to have any club bangers on her album? no. But I like her songs and as AliaJSmith said, “she makes you feel better” when you are having a tough day(aka The Truth, Brown Skin, Beautiful..I saw her perform Ready for Love live and it was amazing.)
I was wondering about her the other day and why she hadn’t put something else out.
I thought she was better than Alicia Keys when they both first came out. But Alicia stepped up her game on her 2nd album. Overhyped? Oh hell yeah. But that’s no real biggie.
I don’t have a real problem with her. I mean, I don’t know that she’s that talented, but none of the people out there right now really speak to me in any real way. I’ve been on this old school R&B and soul kick for the past few months and I just keep shaking my head that music they made 30 and 40 years ago in some cases still gets it going, where the stuff I hear now wears out after a few weeks — with some notable exceptions.
So I got nothin’ for ya.
Too Damn Funny….because its true.
Reading through the comments, a few things jump out. First off, I don’t think we always listen to music to make us feel better. Sometimes you feel like punching a wall, and you want to wallow in that feeling for a bit, so you might put on something that gives the feeling of punching a wall, without the actual act. I go back to what I posted before, the “positive” vs. “negative” thing is too limiting. We are not perfect creations, and need music that speaks to all the different aspects of ourselves. An uplifting or life-affirming song, should first and foremost be a good song. And why wouldn’t we expect her to put a club-banger on her album? What, she don’t dance? How truly creative would someone like India.Arie show herself to be if she did a club record that made women feel empowered?
I got a totally different feel from India. I really dig her music. She isn’t saying anything prolific, but sometimes the most profound statements are simple. Think ” Thank You- by Dido” nothing profound, but still a great song with a deep undertone that makes you really look at life. Her music makes you think. The one cut she has called “I see God in you” had me hooked off the Bamboozed soundtrack.
The whole notion of her not being her hair or being a video chick speaks to the American perception of beauty. This notion has held us as a whole held captive for generations….conks, skin bleaching, paper bag tests,jerry curls, weaves, dark skinned blonds and the perfect woman being a size 4-7.
She has an acoustic sound that is homegrown. Think of the blues. Is any of that shit profound? But you can’t tell me that it isn’t good music or that those artist can’t sing.
Music is one of the only things that folks can debate for years and it doesn’t mean anything. If you dig it – you dig it.
Damn you Bo. You always manage to goad me into a response by asserting something ignorant. I love you for that.
I don’t find her stuff (with a few exceptions) any too captivating. Yes her image is linked to a particular scene, just like all your sorry, mush-mouth, tear-the-club-up rappers you love to rep so hard. Just like virtually every other artist out there.
But I’ll defend her, and her scene, simply because it provides balance. If all we’re going to be offered is monotonous, uninspired music from people without talent anyway (see your top 25 no limit post), then I say let’s at least have some diversity of message. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that some of our little girls will see developing inner sources of self-esteem as an option to shaking their ass on the hood of a ’72 Chevelle.
alldaydre>>> you took the words right out of my mouth.
Top 25 No Limit? Come on now!
Case closed.
You’re foolish enough to think that passes for a case–let alone a closed one–yet you’re capable of reading and typing words? That’s an enigma wrapped in a riddle right there.
What about Macy Gray? C’mon, at least India doesn’t sound like Weezy.
i wasn’t gonna say nuthin about this latest bit of chauvinism from bo (no disrespect, playa). then i decided to post something at the end when i though no one would read it. finally i saw alldaydre’s post which really clears things up nicely, making what i’ma say unnecessary; but i’m all “type-keyed” in now, so here we go. fact is, bo has passed around the kool-aid and many of you have taken a hearty swig. some say they don’t want our young women frontin like lil kim: all “suck me and fuck me and watch me take your money .” then in the next breath the same folk say they can’t handle the “i’m a queen” message unless it comes with some tight arrangement and stellar vocals. but none of this seems to bother these folks when it comes to a cat like young jeezy. now i’m no cynthia tucker (sorry, different post), but jeezy is a poor excuse for a black man: that cat can’t sing, rap, or dance, his lyrics offer nothing more than the typical retread of the bullshit so-called ghetto economics that is destroying our youth, AND his music, called “production” in rap since it usually does not involve live instrumentation, is terrible. (this last point about dismissing the same qualities in arie that you praise in southern rap is one that alldaydre already made, and it is what led me to label bo a chauvinist in this regard: one cannot be the chorusleader for southern rap, no limit records, etc. on the one hand, and then uncritically dismiss an effort to “balance” this often ridiculous imagery on the other, as alldaydre said so well.)
so, you asked why or how folks can dig a young lady like arie? here’s one answer (one of many): i have a six yr old daughter and, believe me, the battle against that BET image of our young black girls shakin that azz, and backin it up and all that has ALREADY begun. try being a father to a girl who can get pregnant in as few as seven years from now, then put on some of that no limit bullshit. i think you might appreciate arie a lil better after that, tight vocal arrangement or not.
i’ma pull a Rex-like move and add an addendum, sorry: i know of course that young jeezy is not affiliated with no limit. he was just the first idiot to come to mind, whereas no limit was just the last group of idiots repped on this site by bo. even though he is not in their clique, my conclusions about certain aspects of the category of music in which they both reside (lyrics that are, as bo says regarding arie, heavy handed and simplistic) are valid, i think.
secondly, some might argue that if the greatest gift that arie can give to the world of music is to appeal to 6 yr old girls then i have in fact proven the opposition’s point, but unintentionally. well, needless to say, i would disagree with the notion that something like the empowerment of six yr old black girls would be arie’s greatest gift, but it certainly ain’t all bad. my daughter loves arie, loves alicia keys (why criticize an artist for at least TRYING to write substantive lyrics and decent music?), and i don’t think there is hardly anything in the world more important than affecting positive change in the minds of our children.
so now i’m done fo real. whatever other issues you have with what i’ve said are yours to pontificate.
Wow-maybe people are reading a different post than I am. A couple of points here. First of all, Bomani’s original post didn’t negate the importance of women hearing a positive message in music, just asked if there were any other redeeming artistic qualities. That’s not being a chauvinist–just bringing up a valid point. India Arie does have a few good numbers (again, brought up in the post). But I happen to agree, that positivity aside, the same messsage gets boring and pedantic after a few songs. I can be bored by my damn self without having to pay for an album. (And just to note, Jill Scott does a fine job of empowering women, writing great songs and putting on a bangin’ show.)
Another things that’s really very interesting what here has been termed as ‘positivity’ and ’empowerment’ for black women. One of the things that has not been mentioned in terms of empowerment of women is learning to accept, appreciate and revel in our sexuality. Why is it that the notion of what’s ‘positive’ seems to be limited to positioning oneself against mainstream images of what is ‘beautiful’. Seems to me that Black women (and women in general) have just as many problems grappling with male attitudes towards what is ‘proper’ in terms of sexual behavior than any other. I encounter women all of the time teaching fitness who automatically clam up and get uncomfortable when I teach a move that involves any kind of hip movement or body rolls–and it’s partially because they’ve bought into the notion that ‘good girls’ don’t move THAT way.
And no disrespect to Kobie, but you’re giving a variant of the same tired-ass argument about television images (e.g. BET) contributing to the moral downfall of our girls (glorifying shaking their asses). Like Dick Gregory says, the only good thing about the good ol’ days is that they’re gone. Folks have been shaking their asses and getting knocked up for a lot longer than BET has been around, suggesting that TV is a symptom of the problem, rather than THE problem. (Actually, India Arie has a song or two that might make folks want to get vertical. But I digress.) Not arguing that television images can’t influence behavior, but I have to say that the influence of my parents (particularly my mother) had a lot more to do with my behavior than what I saw on television. Interestingly enough, I like to shake my ass on the dance floor (and have done so around the world) and so do many of my friends. However, we’re not pregnant and have no plans to be in the near future. However, many of the people I knew growing up in church had one or two kids before exiting teenagerdom…perhaps we should limit the number of hymns one can hear before turning 20?
Hello. I have read your article and I must say that I can’t disagree on your opinion but, India Arie is an amazing singer. Yes, she may have some cheesy lines but, that doesn’t mean shes “un-talented.” Her music is very soulful and it’s way better than most of the crap I see and hear today.
This is an ignorant post. India Arie is gold. Too bad you don’t love yourself enough to appreciate any music uplifting self love, black love and black empowerment.
Get it together