In Tribute

In this episode I took the time to celebrate the life and legacy of Tina Turner in a way that shows her enduring legacy. I mentioned that there were multiple female performers who embodied a bit of Tina Turner, from a Janet Jackson to a Madonna, from a Beyoncé to a Lizzo, from a Mary J. Blige to a Toni Braxton and the list goes on and on. But the whole point of my show is to showcase the little known and the unknown things about music and pop cultural history that often doesn’t get talk to about and that includes other female performers who I believe also embody a little of Tina Turner and the influence from her I see. I focused on Yola and Rhiannon Giddens, because they too have what I see in Tina Turner, a genre-defining artists who has a strong stage presence and prowess, powerful vocals and a way to capturing a wide ranging of audiences.

That part of Tina’s legacy is the most enduring, because when I think about Ms. Tina, I think about how black artists, especially black female artists are put in a box often. Most black performers in the award ceremonies in most cases in music history have been placed in either, Soul or R&B categories depending how most award givers deemed their artistry. Tina like Whitney, Aretha, Dionne, Diana and countless others can sing pop, rock, R&B, soul, funk and any type of genre they could and that is hard to box in for a lot of spectators and industry heads alike, due to the history of inequality within the music industry that has plagued black performers for decades.

But being the trailblazer she is, Tina overcome that would be “boxing-in” of her craft and used her vocal prowess, gifted dance moves and grooves that is rooted in black gospel, blues, soul and funk and brought it all to the Pop/rock stage introducing herself to a whole new audience in her mid-40s (also redefining the old ageism argument, that has especially plague female artists for decades!).

All of that has crack open the door for black female performers like a Yola and Rhiannon Giddens, as well as it has for a Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lizzo and even a Megan Thee Stallion! Tina Turner is a global icon who endured tragedy, abuse and pain as well as career setbacks, a child of the Jim Crow south and a woman of the “Women’s Liberation Movement” era of the 1970s. And she is also a genre-defining artists who rewrite the rules for female artists to express themselves musically they see fit. And that legacy is important to embrace, celebrate and acknowledge.