Why India.Arie is not your average new girl singer

Jet, Jan 28, 2002 by Clarence Waldron

She notes, "You might not look like a model, but does that mean you are going to actually hate yourself? Just say, `Hey, this is how I look.'"

The 5-foot-7 singer reveals, "When I wrote it, it was just about me and how I felt about me. And I was literally looking in the mirror, writing it. Because I grew up feeling really down on myself and being ridiculed for the way I looked, the way my voice sounds, being muscular and tall. But now that I love myself and I accept myself, it's like a situation where those are the things that I love about myself."

Today, India.Arie is certainly loved by music fans everywhere. They love the way she looks, her bright smile, the way she sings, her inner strength and spirit and the way she plays that guitar.

Not your average new singer, she is one singer who also has a rich sense of musical history. She sings praises to Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Ma Rainey, Minnie Riperton, Stevie Wonder and others on Acoustic Soul. She performs a special tribute to Wonder titled, Wonderful (Stevie Wonder Dedication).

She met him last year during Wonder's all-star benefit concert for needy children in Los Angeles. "I met Stevie finally," she exclaims. "It was beautiful. Stevie, Musiq Soulchild and I sang Visions together. It was a special moment for me to be able to sing with Musiq and Stevie because Musiq and I love Stevie the same way. And Visions is our favorite Stevie Wonder song. It was a very moving day."

Wonder returned the compliment. He recently said of India.Arie: "A gentle genius lives in the mind, voice and hands of this woman."

Clearly not your average new singer, India.Arie toured as Sade's opening act last year, which was one of the highest-grossing concerts of the year. "It turned out to be a learning experience. I felt kindred to her in a way because she sings about the heart. She found success, long-term success, by just being herself. Watching her show taught me how you could have music that is quiet and loud, big and intimate at the same time. It was just a beautiful experience and my first tour. I found out that I really love touring. She's an icon. I got a glimpse of what I can be. She's a normal person and so am I. And if she can find that level of success and inspire that many people, then I know that I can. I have a chance. She's a sweet lady. She gave me her home number and everything. I love that lady," she enthuses.

Reflecting on her uplifting music and her role as an artist, she notes, "Artists help people stay in touch with their feelings. I think music has the ability to heal, the ability to teach. It's a very tangible/non-tangible thing ... it just goes. It's like energy that lives forever."

And she hopes the message in Video and her other tunes will continue to help people grow and feel good about themselves.

"That song is about accepting yourself for who you are and how you are. Knowing that God makes us all in a specific way. It's true. We all have this perfect height and skin color and hair texture and mental capacity to do whatever and be whoever we are."