Interview with Yewande


Q: Although you're not signed to a major label and you don't have an album released yet you have made such an impression in the world of music. How do you feel about this?

Yewande: I'm incredibly blessed. There's no text book explanation that I can give you for any of my successes. Most of us have that one thing in life that we dream of being. Ever since I was a child, I always had a very strong connection to music and was even more fascinated by how it affected people. I guess you could say that I was led to it. And no matter how hard I ever tried to ignore it or how much people discouraged me from pursuing it, once I surrendered to that "calling" I knew that I couldn't turn back. But I also quickly realized that the only way I even had a chance to survive was creating a sound plan. I was just fortunate that my plan worked.

Q: Regarding your success so far, do you think it was the right decision to become an independent artist who is of full control of her music, image, promotion etc.? And what do you think of your future as an musician? One of the advantages of being with a major label may be a little more money and a world-wide distribution of your music. The question is, would this be worth to lose control of your artistry in some ways? I've read that once an A&R manager told you to change your name because Yewande sounds too ethnic...I find it hard to believe that there's still a lot of racism in the music industry.

Yewande: There's no doubt in my mind that I made the right choice becoming an independent artist. Believe me, it's not the path that I dreamed of, but if I'd waited around for some man in a suit to "accept" me and my music...well, I'd still be waiting. Like most artists, I thought that having a different style and strong voice was enough to get me the record deal of my dreams and I'd live happily ever after, but my strengths wound up creating the biggest obstacles (how ironic). Actually, my very first meeting with a record label resulted in an immediate offer, but even with their long history in the jazz world I was afraid that like so many jazz artists I admired that my music would never reach the masses. More labels came calling, but they all wanted the same thing...for me to be just like everyone else. Yes, an executive representing two HUGE R&B/Hip-Hop acts approached me, but after questioning whether I could dance (that's a critical requirement after all), suggested that I change my birth name because it was "too ethnic". After the initial shock wore off, I explained how the NAME he wanted to change represented everything that I was as an artist (it means "reincarnation of Grandmother" in Yoruba). THEN I went home and bawled my eyes out. Is THIS what I'd have to do to be successful? Seduce all of my listeners with some sexy pole dance, change my name to Brittany and ignore every virtue that I treasured?
Of course world-wide success was the goal, but at what cost? I would sign to a major label in a heartbeat if I knew that they would honor the story that I want to tell with my music. But lately it seems like you've got to be a clone of someone else to succeed in this business and I learned early on that I just didn't "fit" that mold...and I didn't want to. I never wanted to be the manager, the publicist, the promoter, the producer and everything else that goes along with running a record label, but I knew that I had a gift that deserved a chance and it was obvious that no one could do it but me. Fortunately, my mother, who is also an entrepreneur, encouraged me to study business in college along with my classical voice and piano studies. And growing up around her company, I was doubly blessed to witness the sacrifices that she made for her business to succeed. So with 18 hour work days and a lot of prayer, in 2003 I launched Lotus Records and first international tour.
Shortly after that, B. E. T. gave me the chance to perform on "106th & Park", I won a national competition with Steve Madden Shoes, who presented me at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and put me on tour with everyone from the Black Eyed Peas to Enrique Iglesias. Since that time, I released my debut EP, "Evolution" (with support in part by Steve Madden Shoes), distributed music in over 13 countries, performed in over 200 cities around the world, voted "Best Solo Artist" in the national college market, and am now up for an MTV reality series featuring the top indie artists in the country. The independent road has definitely been a struggle, but I'm playing the game on my own terms...I can't turn back now.

Q: What do you think of the music business these days? There is obviously some really great music available but one has to dig a little deeper these days to discover all the gems that are sometimes only available via the internet.

Yewande: I think that the music industry is what it's always been...a business. And just like every other business in existence, its success is based on revenue. But at what point money became more important than artistry is what really distresses me. There's room for all genres of music, but what happened to writing tasteful material with substance? Of course music has always provided people with entertainment, but it also reflected times of deep social and economic struggle. Spirituals, Blues, Gospel, Jazz and Rock music were all born from movements that defined generations. I've been touring a lot of universities with my lecture-performance called "A Journey of Spirit: Rhythms and Rhymes" that explores how these movements impact today's music and popular culture. It's important for our youth to not only acknowledge the adversities that so many of our ancestors have overcome, but to understand how their words, their sacrifices and dreams changed history...that's powerful!
And what happened to real music? The industry is a serious game and many artists have been pimped into believing we have to be provocative to flip a dollar...we've got to be smarter than that. The greatest tragedy is that the media perpetuates this and listeners have become so numbed by it that they openly bring it into their homes...and the lives of their own children. Thank God for the Soul, R&B, Hip-Hop artists that have bypassed that road - Lauryn Hill, Mos Def, Kina, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Alicia Keyes, India.Arie, Outkast, Common, The Roots - but you could probably count them on 2 hands. And if you're a woman in this business, you've got a double whammy. I'm not naïve here, I realize how image plays into the game but we're still dealing with a society that expects us to be looked at and not heard. You couldn't pay me for that jail sentence just to fill my pockets with money (laughs). Why is it so inconceivable that as an African-American woman I can express the deeper sides of humanity? And I can sing different styles of music...Rock, Soul, Hip-Hop...I'm all of those things. I want to be an artist that bridges the gap between music and the "human" race.

Q: From what I've heard so far from you, your music really has a message. What inspires you to write your lyrics?

Yewande: Yeah, I don't typically write songs just to hear myself sing (laughs). I don't believe in saying "never", but I seriously doubt that you'd ever hear me write a song about my butt or my baby's Daddy or being "the baddest bit$!" on the planet...people would die laughing if that came out of my mouth. I realized early on that my words and voice had the power to affect people and I don't take that lightly...when you understand that blessing, there's just no other option but to be true to that gift. Of course I'm always challenged with making my music "accessible"...I mean seriously, the industry has conditioned listeners tastes a certain way, so while I'll always be true to the message, people have got to feel the music to get to it. I'm inspired by everything around me, ya' know? Life is tragically humorous to me so I often find myself trying to find some resolution to the things that don't make any sense to me, i.e., love, pain, birth, death, suffering, war, poverty...they're all a part of every person's life on some level and that can't be ignored.

Q: Since this world seems to get out of joint more and more everyday (like fighting wars only to discover that there were no weapons of mass destruction, consuming energy made from oil like there's no tomorrow or people dying of illnesses like AIDS just because they can't afford the medicine and the pharmaceuticals industry does everything to avoid cheap drugs in developing countries etc), do you plan to address this in your songs? In the 70ies people like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye or Curtis Mayfield felt obliged to comment on the state of the world and that's something what's really been missing in my opinion.

Yewande: You're absolutely right. Recording artists are some of the most powerful, influential people on the planet, but a lot of us aren't using that position for good. The reality is that most of us are just trying to survive and are willing to do it by any means necessary. Of course the "conscious" artist still exists, but the truth has indeed been forced underground. You see, if the truth were revealed, then we'd be forced to acknowledge what an ill society we are. I wrote a song about a homeless man almost five years ago called "Rufus" and I can't tell you how many of your average, every day men and women around the world have thanked me for writing a song about them...it's the one song that's requested at every show. That always amazes me, but that's how good music should make you feel...like you belong. We're not that different from each other...we all have the same wants, fears and desires, but there's very little music out there that reflects that side of our humanity.
I hate to be the one to tell ya', but times haven't changed that much since the era of messengers like Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye...our priorities have changed. I think that as soon as the "men in suits" realized just how much money they could make promoting sex and fantasies (right around the 70's), they changed the formula and a lot of artists simply conformed to that. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but it's the executives who control what we hear on the radio and see on TV. Come on now, out of the thousands of talented acts out there, only 2 out of every 100 aren't cursing, grinding, raping our women, grabbin' their crotches and poppin' off guns??? Maybe it's me, but that's not an accurate reflection of our artists.

Q: What has inspired you to become a musician in the first place and who are your main influences?

Yewande: Oh man, there were so many factors that led me to become a musician. My mother was the one who sat me down at the piano at the age of seven. But like a lot of artists, I think that the biggest factor was that I never "fit" in anywhere...as a teenager I had bad hair, bad make up, was never part of the cool click and was always defending the underdogs. Music just always gave me a place to belong, where I could be myself no matter what anyone else thought about me. I also didn't grow up with my father around much and when he was around, there was always a lot of yelling, threatening and slamming doors...that was really painful for me, so I think I was always trying to make some peace with that in my music. There you have it...a true blue suffering artist (laughing). But seriously, I was a "different" kind of child and was fascinated with artists like Etta James, Sarah Vaughn, Billy Holiday, Josephine Baker and Nina Simone that weren't afraid to bear their souls. Then there were just those bad ass warriors like Tina Turner, Pat Benetar, Patti LaBelle, Janice Joplin who really made me proud to be a woman. And legends like Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Michael Jackson (I know, I know) who've just completely flipped the industry in a way that no one could EVER duplicate. If I could give listeners even a fraction of the inspiration that they gave me, then I could die happy.

Q: Major labels always try to tell us that file-sharing via peer-to-peer-networks is killing music, although I think they just have forgotten to discover and develop new, original and unique artists. What do you feel when your music is exchanged on e.g. Kazaa or Soulseek?

Yewande: Well, as an independent artist, it was internet radio that first introduced my music to listeners around the world and it's continued to allow me to maintain such a strong presence without major label support. When you don't have the budget for a million dollar publicist, trillion dollar street team or gazillion dollar distribution deal...the internet is IT (laughs)! I mean seriously, even major label artists now depend on sites like MySpace.com to handle their business and connect directly to their fans, 'cause the labels alone just ain't cuttin' it. Many of the decision makers in the record labels have gotten lazy and the internet has emancipated thousands of their artists...and they just hate that. If selling CD's underground worked for 50 Cent, then Soulseek can download me any day of the week...you can't pay for that kind of exposure!

Q: Please tell me how you've teamed up with Peter Lord and V. Jeffrey Smith (aka The Family Stand), who produced Rufus with you.

Yewande: It's kind of funny, before I worked with Peter and Jeff, I didn't really know much about their music beyond "Ghetto Heaven" (hit single in the 90's), but I became a real fan. They have to be one of the most underrated bands in the history of music (and you can quote me on that).
[jnj: he he I know that...I became a fan of them when they were Evon Geffries & The Stand and released the 12" Sex w/o Love and the album Chapters A Novel By]
Well, Peter was basically looking for a vocalist to record a song from this amazing musical screenplay that he'd written and I'd been recording a lot of jingles and demos for developing projects including a musical for Radio City Music Hall...so he gave me a shot. I guess he liked what he heard, because shortly after that we recorded my second demo (the first one was with Meshell N'degeocello's music director, Federico Pena).
We never secured a deal, but that demo created a lot of media attention especially with the remix of "Rufus" (which was also released on Soul Brother Records' "Organic Soul III" CD out of London). It was a life changing experience for me...and they really understood music (sounds like an obvious concept, but believe me it's incredibly rare). I'm not talking about cats who knew what buttons to push on a keyboard to "sound" like live guitar rifts. They actually played the guitar, and bass, and drums, and keys and knew about orchestration...and how to tell a story unlike a lot of today's "producers". I must say that it wasn't until Peter gave me a recording of their "Moon in Scorpio" album with Sandra St. Victor that I had an actual reference for what my music could really be. It wasn't Black or White, it was more than Rock, Soul or Funk...it was raw and it was human and that's how I want people to see me.

Q: When will your debut album be released and with whom do you work on it? And how would you describe the music on your album? I know it's pointless in some way to pigeonhole music (because in the end there's only good and bad music) but it's helpful for promotional and marketing reasons.

Yewande: Ahhhh, the ALBUM! I just finished "Evolution" this Summer and already everyone wants to know when the album is coming...no rest for the weary I guess (laughs). Most of the album is actually finished (in my head and on paper), but I'm just trying to secure the right deal to make it happen. Listener response to demos and live performances of the new material has been great so hopefully that will translate on CD. I don't know who'll work on the project with me this time...I'm classically trained so I love sweeping orchestration as much as I do edgy production, so whoever's rockin' this project with me has a lot to meet up to (laughs). I'm really excited about the new direction though...writing and producing "Evolution" gave me the chance to rediscover all the things I love about music from Spirituals to Gregorian Chant, Rock and Soul. On the full length album I'll still be true to the message, but turn up the edge a notch with more Hip-Hop beats and Rock drive...something I'm calling "Urban Rock". Can you handle it (laughs)?

For more infos visit yewande.com, cdbaby.com and read my review of Evolution.