Atlanta-based singer India.Arie achieved critical acclaim with the release of her first album “Acoustic Soul” and international fame with a phenomenal seven Grammy Award nominations – the most of any solo artist – in January 2002.

Since then, her life has been a whirlwind of motion, a jet-setting series of interviews, concerts and television performances championing her meteoric rise to success. “My life has changed so much, so fast,” says the 27-year-old Motown recording artist.

Now, after a short breather and the release of her second CD, India.Arie is off and running, again. She launched her U.S. “Voyage to India” tour this fall, including a stop at the Atlanta Civic Center.

More is sure to come, as critics are singing the praises of “Voyage to India,” calling it an intelligent follow-up to her breakthrough platinum-plus debut. The album skyrocketed to the #1 spot on Billboard’s R&B Chart shortly after its release this past September.

“Centering on her acoustic guitar and confident but restrained vocals, [India.Arie’s music] recalls such soul masters as Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack,” writes Anthony DeCurtis in the New York Times.

Indeed, branded with India.Arie’s trademark blend of R&B, jazz, folk, hip-hop and pop, the 15-track album is all heart and soul, filled with expressive songs about life and love.

“In hindsight, I think my first album was about being grateful that I had arrived at a certain point in my life and career,” says India.Arie, who put a dot in her name to make it more recognizable. “The second one’s all about growth. It’s called ‘Voyage to India’ because it’s about my emotional and spiritual journey. And I’m still in the middle of this transition.

TALK ABOUT FATE . . . Thirty one years ago, India.Arie’s mom Simpson sang with her group The Montclairs as the opening act at a Stevie Wonder concert at Michigan State University (where she met India’s father Ralph Simpson). Today, Stevie Wonder has become India.Arie’s mentor and friend. The two are singing together in a new TV ad campaign for Target.

“After the album was sequenced, I was surprised at how much of a true representation of the last year it is,” she adds. “‘Little Things,’ ‘Slow Down,’ ‘God is Real’ and ‘The Truth,’ all blended together, would sum up the past year.”
“Little Things,” the first single from the album, is a learned lesson in humility, taken straight from the 2002 Grammy Awards ceremony. India.Arie admits to getting caught up in the hype and being disappointed when she didn’t walk away with a single award.

“In the quest for fortune and fame/don’t forget about simple things,” she sings. “...Running ‘round in circles/lost my focus/lost sight of my goals/I do this for the love of music/not for the glitter and gold.”

Named in tribute to Mahatma Gandhi (whose birthday matched her due date), India.Arie was drawn to music at an early age, encouraged by both her mother, a singer herself who goes by the name Simpson, and her father, Ralph Simpson, a former basketball player with the Denver Nuggets.

The family moved from Denver to Atlanta when she was in high school. She sang in the school choir and studied a variety of instruments, from sax to baritone clarinet to French horn.

At the age of 21, India.Arie discovered the guitar while studying jewelry making at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She was hooked.

“At a party, I was playing a song that I wrote about my mother, and, at some point, I wasn’t even thinking about what the next word or note was going to sound like. The room got really bright, like someone had turned up the lights. At that moment, I knew that a dream was coming true,” says India.Arie, who counts Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and Oleta Adams among her musical influences.

“Both my mom and dad encouraged me, but once I started singing, my mom was my mentor,” India.Arie says. “She grew up in Detroit when Motown was new, and taught me everything about singing and songwriting. My ‘formal training’ was my mom saying, ‘Try this.’ ”

Her junior year, she left college to pursue songwriting full-time in Atlanta. She co-founded an artist’s collective called Groovement/Earthseed, which led to the release of an independent compilation CD featuring one of India.Arie’s songs. The song earned her a second-stage gig at Lilith Fair, where she met Universal/Motown music scout Reen Nalli, who, in turn, introduced her to Kedar Massenburg, head of Motown.

The rest is history. India.Arie’s “Acoustic Soul,” released in March 2001, made an impressive No. 10 debut on the Billboard national album chart. Shortly after, veteran roots-rocker John Mellencamp selected her for a duet on “Peaceful World” and Sade personally invited India.Arie to open her 2001 tour.

By December of that year, “Acoustic Soul” had passed the million-unit mark in sales. Following the Grammy nominations that number more than doubled.

Despite all the glory, India.Arie remains very much grounded. Her mother is her mentor and her stylist, creating wonderfully colorful outfits for her daughter to wear that are fun, funky, cool and comfy. “My mom makes all of my favorite clothes,” she says.

As for the man in her life, it has always been older brother J'on, who lovingly stepped in to guide, protect, parent and encourage her in the absence of their father. To this day, J'on remains her closest friend.

A private person, India.Arie says she still gets nervous every time she goes onstage. “The only reason I started performing is that I believed in my songs. My songs are very introspective, and I sing from my heart. It’s very real.”

She continues to send out those positive vibes, so rare in today’s youth-targeted market. “When I first started writing songs, I knew that I just wanted to say things that were uplifting, because if I was going to sing them over and over again, why not make it something that feels good to sing.”

From the Winter 2002 issue.

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