I AM​

                     Rahnda rizing; radiating rhythmically
   Around these here streets

Holding space for my joy
                                                                                            Nice wit it, nostalgic, but new wit it, nourishing the need to do noteworthy deeds everyday 

   Daring to defy limitations 

   Awakening to my destiny 

   Radiating Rhythmically (Acrostic #2) 

     Written by R. Rize, Copyright 2023 

 

 

This voice

Created by The Creator

Nurtured by my mama and daddy

The Holman-Foreman clan sangin sistas, prayin women from way back when

that could pull you in,

make you rock, cry, get you back together again....real quick

move you to the core

Those voices are a part of me

They live in me
They are my first taste of the beauty of Blackness!

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Then I went deeper and discovered.....


I am the dance of Dunham

the Jazz of Sarah

the gospel of Mahalia,

the pen of Sonia,

the soul of Aretha

the funk of Chaka,

and the R&B and Hip Hop Soul of Mary.

Educated in the halls of Wonder, Gaye and Hathaway

 

I am rooted in this here throat 

Rooted in this here tongue that has projected and carried the melodies of my mother’s wisdom

I am rooted in these here hands that have cultivated and carved out dreams, and destinies as far as the eye can see

I am rooted in these here feet that have carried me through many moons and lifetimes

 

Rooted in the Gospel of the Black church, The Blues, Jazz, Bebop, Motown, to Classic Hip Hop, Soul to the NeoSoul & back again

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But aint nothin new here....

 

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Rooted in this here culture that runs deeply through my veins; it be the heartbeat of my art-making.

My art is intersectional bringing together the sacred and the secular,

the mainstream and the underground, the popular and the unpopular, the classic and the new age.

In the words of Frankie Beverly & Maze my art is a combination of “joy and pain”.

In the words of the prolific artist Bilal, my art is a combination of “beauty and ugliness”,

and in the words of the High Priestess of Soul, queen Nina Simone, my art aims to “reflect the times”.

My work focuses on Black representation, Black unity, Black love, Black empowerment, and Black joy

serving as a call to action for the healing, wellness, liberation and progress for my people,

while offering moments for self-reflection.  My mission is to address, confront and dismantle the historical traumas that Black women,

and Black people as a whole have endured for generations in this so-called land of the free,

countering those narratives by uplifting and affirming the beauty of who we are.

This art is a love letter to my people; an exploration of what it means to be Black living in America,

but more specifically what it means to be Black and woman living in America.

My art practice is rooted in the Black experience giving voice to our stories, our swag, our aesthetic, our truths, our brilliance.

 

This art be

The joy within me

The love within me 

The fire within me

The echoes of ancestral epic memory & community

Soulfulness 

Reciprocity 

Hope

Faith

Strength

Safety 

Vulnerability 

The power of feminine energy

Moving

A deep diving

drenched in the fullness of spirit

Like being near something holy

It be like water

It be like the wind

It be like takin you to chuch!

A thunderous roar like the power of Ogun

yet gentle and nourishing as in the power of Oshun

It be the power of the voice

A meditation 

Healing through sound 

Energy & Stillness

Like rising from the ashes

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​Rooted and ready 

Rooted and reassured

​Rooted remembering why I started 

Rooted taking my rightful place

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A Soul Siren shaping sound, defining rhythm w/a touch of blues. WordsMelodiesMovement in all hues. 

     

I AM 

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