I am a music lover and I will be the first to admit that most of the music I listen to is from “back in the day”. For me, that would be Soul and R&B from the 70s and 80s, Hip Hop and R&B from the 90s and Soft and Classic Rock from the AM Radio days of the late 60s and 70s. Over the past several years (and mainly because I have two Gen Z sons that love music as well (wonder where they got that from), I find myself listening more and more to today’s music as well.
About three months ago, I became aware of India Shawn. I am a huge fan of Anderson .Paak the Free Nationals (his amazing band, that now has an album out as well). The Free Nationals visited NPR in March to perform at the legendary Tiny Desk and Ms. Shawn was the featured vocalist for two of their songs (“Beauty & Essex” and “On Sight”) from their debut album Free Nationals. I was impressed with her voice and that prompted me to look for more of her music. I did learn that India was one of the background vocalists for Anderson .Paak on his Best Teef In The Game tour back in 2019. Since I wrote a review for Anderson Paak’s Baltimore tour show, I reviewed the photos I took that night and realized that I did capture a few photos of India and her fellow singer Alayna (very talented in her own right).
I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that the Los Angeles native has released two previous albums (Origin in 2012 and Outer Limits in 2015), both very solid efforts. She also has released several singles, including most recently two songs that I REALLY like (“CALI LOVE” and “NOT TOO DEEP” featuring 6LACK). India is on SoundCloud as well, where you can find some of her released and unreleased songs, including a nice EP: Wonderful, A Tribute to Stevie Wonder. The EP includes four of Stevie’s songs (“Visions”, “Golden Lady”, “Take A Little Trip”, and “Happier Than The Morning Sun”). India did a great job covering these iconic songs. I like them all, but if pressed, I would say “Visions” and “Golden” Lady are my favorites.
Not only is India a talented singer, but she is also a successful and accomplished songwriter. In addition to writing songs for herself, she has written songs for Chris Brown, Monica and Keri Hilson.
Given that the COVID-19 pandemic has put a halt to live in person shows, many artists are using various social media platforms to perform for their fans. To that end, MTV created a series called Alone Together Instagram Live Jam Session to give rising artists the opportunity to perform for their IG followers. On 6/19/2020, India Shawn delivered an impressive (but brief) performance and very likely gained some new fans. India was joined by the talented Jose Rios, an amazing guitarist who is also a member of the Free Nationals.
Ms Shawn performed “I’m Alive”, which is a catchy tune from the Origin album that confirms that life goes on after a breakup. This tune caught the attention of Solange Knowles, as it was featured on a compilation album called Saint Heron (released on Knowles’ record label (Heron Records). India then followed up with “CALI LOVE”, a nice mellow groove with an infectious beat where she laments on the difficulty of finding love in LA. India ended the set with “NOT TOO DEEP”, a certified “slow jam” that features her soothing, smooth vocals. Throughout her brief performance, India’s vocal talents and engaging personality were on full display.
Here is a link to her official video for CALI LOVE and NOT TOO DEEP:
India Shawn – CALI LOVE
India Shawn – NOT TOO DEEP
India is working on her forthcoming album, and if CALI LOVE and NOT TOO DEEP are any indication, it will be an album worth waiting for! I would encourage you to give India’s music a listen on Apple iTunes and SoundCloud. I think you will be pleasantly surprised…I am certainly expecting big things from her in the future.
You can check out India’s music on iTunes and the following platforms:
SoundCloud
YouTube
