Pen Voyage Liner Notes - Track 2

Happy Monday to you, hope you've had a lovely weekend? I have.

This is my second installment of the ten Music Mondays featuring the Pen Voyage Liner Notes. The second track on the record is "BEAUTIFUL"

On the 19th of September I wrote a blog about this song READ HERE
http://lanrefajumo.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-song-beautiful.html

While I was thinking what more could I possibly add to what I had already written, a last minute opportunity came up for me to sing the song at Naturally Fabulous an event held organised by Natural Lounge at the Cape Bar in Central London.

I have to say it's the first time I've been in the same space with a lot of ladies rocking their natural hair. Three hundred gorgeous ladies rocking their God given hair in different styles and lengths it was amazing to see.

While my Song is not just about hair, the first verse touched on it.

"Once upon a time there was a little girl, she always wanted to be like everyone else. She had the brownest eyes hair so soft as wool, no one ever told her she was beautiful...."


I know for a fact that it's the story of a lot of young girls. Someone else's hair looks better and someone else's nose looks better and the list goes on. I wrote this song because that is my story, I have never felt like the most beautiful girl. A few years ago while I was having one of those moments of stressing over how to wear my hair for the new week I thought to myself.

"I don't even know what my natural hair looks like"

For those who are a bit confused as to what 'natural hair' means it simply means hair that has not been chemically altered.
Like many girls growing up in Nigeria, I could not wait to finish secondary school just because my mum insisted that it was only then that she would allow me to have my hair relaxed.

I grew up hearing things like....

"Your hair is too tough to comb through" or
"What will I do with this child's hair?"

One day I had enough and I cut off my hair and decided to stop the relaxer for a while and to learn to take care of my hair and learn to love it.



I am not a Natural hair advocate or spokesperson but I realise that even though some may argue that hair, like our nails and is just dead cells and should be less bothered about it, our relationship with it is a pointer to how we feel about ourselves and self worth.

I remember the first few weeks after I started to grow out my natural hair, a lady said to me.

"I don't think I can wear my hair LIKE THAT... it's bush hair"

My response... "No, it's not bush hair, it's MY hair!"


I have had so many responses about this song "BEAUTIFUL" and I am happy I wrote it. Like I say all the time, when I perform this song, it's a story I will tell my younger self if I could go back in time.

"You're not like every other girl in the videos.... YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL"

Pen Voyage Chapter 1; Singing for Change is out on iTunes, Amazon and other digital stores
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/pen-voyage-chapter-1-singing/id466810768

You can buy the physical CD here

Listen to tracks from the album here
Latest tracks by Lánre

iDENTITY

"If you know who you are, you will not answer by who you are not…." Moi

The past couple of weeks, the word identity has been popping up wherever I turn. The word came up again when Isa Agape was teaching at the Rockhill Music Workshop for singers and songwriters.

I have not been watching the current season of American Idol not because I think the artists are not that great, no! I lost interest after the Fantasia season. I however tuned in yesterday; there was nothing else on the box and it’s interesting to see the judges argue amongst themselves about what style or genre of music each one of them think or assume an artist should follow. I never understand these competitions anyway because how do you determine what is good and what isn’t when it comes to creativity? How do you sit behind a long table sipping coca cola through the three minute or less rendition, and make a decision about what artist you think will be ‘huge’?

I have since learnt that these shows are just about pushing the agenda of a record and TV production executive; huge bank balance. No more, no less. One of the ways they are able to pump up that balance is market to millions of young people who are impressionable and are at that early stage of trying to find themselves. The need to be loved and heard will drive anyone to identify with a product that seems to affirm them or give them a sense of comradeship with a community of fellow human beings who are also searching for themselves.

Speaking of young people, flip open the newspapers or tune into any news channel, you will find everyone talking about young people and violence. Sometimes I wonder why the madness and why are young people so angry? What is fuelling the rage? Is it the need to be loved and heard? What would make someone in their right mind take the life of someone else? Is there a link here to identity crisis? Just thinking out loud.



The question of identity is not just waiting be answered in the artists or creative circles only. Everyone and I mean everyone is screaming to be heard and noticed. One of the things I enjoy doing is eavesdropping on people’s conversation. When I am at work, typing away and punching the numbers I tend to listen to what people are saying and time and time again when two people are engaged in a conversation, the listener is almost always sitting on the edge of his or her seat not because they are paying attention to the other person and listening to what he or she is saying but because they are waiting for breath catching moment and an opportunity to get their word or two in. Everyone is talking but no one is listening.
I came across the amazing James Mraz yesterday, and he said something really important in an interview.

‘Ten years ago, I thought, I can’t wait to be signed so they can tell me what to do. They will give me a bus, give me tour so I can sing. You then realise, that doesn’t happen. They are waiting for you to say, this is what I’m going to do, this is how I am going to do it and this is what I’m bringing along and the minute you say that, everyone is like YAY! Let’s go!’

I had to rewind that statement a few times.

I find that people who know who they are, are the ones that inspire others. The minute you sort out in yourself who you are, others will follow.

Who are you?