“No one that has ever sung ‘neo soul’ has ever called themselves that. Not that I’ve ever heard and I know these people personally”, asserts India when asked if neo soul is dead. “Neo soul is a thing someone made in order to make money, something someone ‘created’ to make money. But that’s fine. I feel like a lot of the people who were held up as pillars of that establishment are not allowing themselves to be considered that way anymore. I also knew that when this term was put on me, I knew there would come a time when that terminology wasn’t going to be considered cool anymore “, India testifies.
right “As far as being the neo soul sound, I hope that people will listen to this album and actually hear what it is and not what they think it is. I don’t ever think that I was ‘that’ sound. On my first song when you listen to the production that’s R&B music right there. But there are songs with cello and guitar and violins that are country music. 'Come and Walk with Me', that’s country music. I think with this album people may hear it and think its pop music.”
India has spent almost four years away from the spotlight since recording India.Arie and Voyage to India. “That first year I was formulating everything spiritually getting it together in my mind. In the next two years that followed I was learning the emotional lessons that were to become songs. I was in a relationship that I wrote a lot of songs about. I didn’t write about the relationship but more about the healing process,“ says India. “After that relationship was over, that was the best thing that happened to me in that time period.”
India’s healing process comes to life beautifully in the songs that make up Testimony. “It’s been fun to be singing these songs of lessons that were hard earned. They were hard earned on a technical level as well. I really did a lot of work. I was really involved, I always was. This time I know more.”
One of the many key messages that are embodied in the new work is identity. The first single from Testimony is “I Am Not My Hair”, a song that actually began as a duet with Pink and was ultimately released with India singing solo and later remixed to feature Akon who won the guest appearance over rapper Shawnna of Disturbing Tha Peace. “I actually recorded 'I Am Not My Hair' with Pink and that was the original version. It wasn’t up to me so I had to let it go. Then I did this remix with Shawnna. What she did was ridiculously dope,” remembers India.
“I Am Not My Hair” is amongst a collection of songs that reflect lessons learned from her relationships. It addresses some of the expectations that her fans have of her and her music and it also serves as a social critique for issues of association and humanity. “This song is saying that after I cut my locks, I discovered that it didn’t matter how I wore my hair. It doesn’t dictate my being. There is a verse that talks about the whole thing about hair and the black community and black society; politically with nappy hair, straight hair, curly hair and all that."
Of the new songs from Testimony, India hasn’t decided on the follow up singles but says she already has a favorite. “It’s a song called “The Morning”. If someone were to classify it I guess they would say its ambient jazz… maybe. But it’s not neo soul,” she jokes.
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