Interviewing India.Arie is everything you think speaking with the songstress would be: she’s warm, witty, funny, thoughtful and inspiring — all without trying. India.Arie is genuine.
But what else would you expect from a woman who wrote and sang about the elegance and beauty of “Brown Skin”? Or the woman who says that, yes, my hair is my crowning glory, but it’s but one part: “I Am Not My Hair.” We’re three-dimensional beings, who can rock any hairstyle whether we bought it or it’s growing out of our scalps.
India.Arie will perform at 7:30 p.m. May 29 at the Center for Performing Arts, Carmel. India.Arie is touring in support of her current album “Worthy,” a collection of songs mostly written between 2016 and 2019. “Worthy” was released February 2019.
“Writing is luxurious for me,” India.Arie said during a phone interview. “I just take as much time as [songs] need. … Recording is a whole ‘nother process. Two years to write and record that was actually fast for me. Two years is fast for me.”
She actually first wrote “Rollercoaster” when Michael Jackson died and has rewritten the song about six or seven times. As with most writers, India.Arie always finds a word or two to change.
“I write them in the moment and they can be tweaked until the last second,” she said. “That’s what you want as a writer.”
Though India.Arie laments where the music industry is now, she’s not going to stop recording the music she’s known for.
“For me as an artist, on a personal level, I’m learning how to be a new version of me in a new world.” she said. “My mission has always been to spread love and joy and power through my music.”
But that doesn’t mean you can put her in a box. That’s the last thing you want to do. Sure she’s cemented in history as part of the NeoSoul movement in the 1990s, but she’s more than one subgenre — or genre, for that matter — of music. She loves Ryan Leslie’s music and RuPaul’s “Drag Race.” Although she’s “naturally well-behaved and diplomatic,” India.Arie has given herself permission to stop caring what others think about her — especially on stage. Whatever she’s feeling is coming out, and that attitude also transcends to what she wears.
“This era, I’ve been having fun with wigs,” India.Arie said. “For me that was like the last holdout of how can I express myself whenever I want. Now, I can do what I want.”
Contact Editor Oseye Boyd at 317-762-7850. Follow her on Twitter @Oseye_Boyd.
