“I always thought the words ‘I am light’ were kind of corny,” Arie said of the song’s origins. ![]() Oduor-Noah, who grew up in Kenya listening to India.Arie records, went on to ask about the writing process behind the song “I Am Light” (from 2013’s Songversation, no less). After she finished singing, Arie went right back to where she'd left off, leaving the audience with a firsthand testament to the eventual success the song found, despite its tenuous beginnings. Transcending Genres and StereotypesĪs an example of the Songversation ethos, Arie shared her thoughts on how naïve she was about how her identity as a black woman would affect her dealings within the industry, and how the challenges she faced informed some of her early breakout hits such as “Video” and “I Am Not My Hair.” For the song “Come Back to the Middle,” she told the audience that when she played it for a record executive, he thought it was pretty, but he wondered where the beat was, expecting her to fall more rigidly into the commercialized definition of a “black artist.” As she spoke, Arie's guitarist, Blue Miller, waiting in the wings, began strumming the track, to which the audience erupted with cheers and applause. This spontaneous act of song is part of a process that she’s developed called “Songversation”-a self-generated practice that has become sacred to her and keeps her grounded on and off the stage. ![]() And to the surprise-and sheer delight-of the audience, she frequently felt moved to sing. Over the course of the hour-plus interview, conducted by contemporary writing and production major Lisa Oduor-Noah, Arie spoke in depth about topics ranging from her songwriting process to being an African-American woman in the music industry. She wasn’t content to just offer an inspirational phrase, however. “I align everything with that mission statement.” Celebration Series, songwriter India.Arie addressed a standing-room-only David Friend Recital Hall, talking about her career and how she achieved her version of success: “Be clear about your values and live by them,” she told the students. ![]() In a recent visit to campus during Berklee’s annual Martin Luther King Jr.
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