When we first saw and heard India Arie Simpson (the artist known as India.Arie) in the music video for her first single, “Video,” we took notice of her radiant, deep skin tone and long locs, dressed boho chic-ly in a bright yellow crop top and flower-painted jeans, and toting an acoustic guitar – and many of us could identify with her.
“I’m not the average girl from your video. And I ain’t built like a supermodel. But I learned to love myself unconditionally. Because I am a queen,” she sang in the chorus.
That breakout song from her Grammy-nominated debut album, Acoustic Soul, became an anthem for Black women, emphasizing that our shine can’t be diminished if we believe in ourselves and that our self-worth isn’t based on Eurocentric standards of beauty.
Since then, India.Arie has stayed true to herself as an ancestrally grounded and spiritually attuned sister who embraces her melanin, her curves and the versatility of her natural hair, whether she’s rocking locs, twists, braids, an Afro or a low cut.
“Growing up, I looked different, I dressed differently, I liked different music. I was made to feel that I wasn’t as good because of that. But it never occurred to me to change,” the Denver native told the Colorado Music Experience.
As an artist, India. Arie has given voice to our collective healing, and that’s why many of her soulfully sincere and soothing songs, like “Brown Skin,” “Ready For Love,” “Get It Together,” and “Strength, Courage & Wisdom,” affirm us and resonate deeply with us.
Let’s take a closer look at the bright light that is India.Arie, and give her her flowers.
She don’t need no Hollywood
India.Arie honed her musical chops at the Savannah College of Art and Design and was discovered by Motown in 1999, when she was part of Atlanta’s indie soul scene.
Unlike the airy and jazzy vocals of her neo-soul predecessors Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, India has a folk-soul sound anchored by her acoustic guitar, and she sings in an effortlessly lilting, velvety smooth, deeper register that is more akin to the male crooners she gives a shout out on Acoustic Soul’s “Intro” – Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway. There are also shades of Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor, who are among her influences as a singer and songwriter.
“My favorite songs always have a musical and an emotional honesty to them, and all my favorite musicians write songs that sound like they’re straight from the heart,” India.Arie said in a conversation with Grammy.com. “The song might make you think, or dance, or cry, or all three at once. But you feel something.”
Both India.Arie and Alicia Keys dropped their debut albums in 2001 – Acoustic Soul and Songs in A Minor, respectively. Both ladies made great first impressions and gave us timeless music. But their career trajectories were vastly different from the beginning.
In 2002, India was nominated for seven Grammys, but she lost in every category, including the coveted Grammy for Best New Artist, which went to Keys, who won five Grammys that year. That snub still has some sisters crying colorism.