Emancipation is the story of my life. I ask myself, what does it mean to be Black and free in the 21st-century? What does it mean for a young black boy from Cleveland, Ohio to be musically free? Who were the Black thought leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries that shaped me? Emancipation seeks to answer all those questions. Growing up as a child studying classical music, I was told by my teachers that in order to be a “serious” classical musician, I needed to sacrifice my Blackness. I would be required to forget the genres that I loved that the most (Gospel, Hip Hop, R&B, Jazz) and had shaped my musical identity as a young Black boy. Emancipation is my way of going back and getting all of those things that I was forced to leave behind. Bringing all of those sounds to the concert stage. Creating a sound track to my life. Not compromising or erasing any parts of myself or my Blackness. Emancipation is a declaration of freedom in a moment where Black music continues to be diminished and Blackpeople continue the fight to simply be free in America. Through this work, I want to honor the many powerful Black voices that have impacted my life. Black thought leaders of the 20th and 21st centuries: James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni, Audrey Lorde, Maya Angelou, Tupac, Kanye West, Michael Eric Dyson, Gordon Parks, Keith Boykin, Marlon Riggs, James Cone, and Essex Hemphill, to name a few. The artists who have influenced me: Whitney Houston, Prince, Kurt Carr, Donald Lawrence, The Roots, Kirk Franklin, Richard Smallwood, Common, Jay-Z, James Hall, William Dawson, Moses Hogan, Dr. Nathan Carter, Dr. Roland Carter, Billie Holiday, and so many more. These are all my super heroes. My Souls Been Anchored is dedicated to Moses Hogan. Jericho is inspired by the words of Audrey Lorde. Revolutionary Love is inspired by Essex Hemphill, Nikki Giovanni, James Baldwin and Marlon Riggs. Glory! is inspired by Kanye West, Jay-Z and dedicated to Whitney Houston, Prince, Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur. Strange Fruit is dedicated to Billie Holiday and Nina Simone.
