Posted on

Malina Moye

I first met Malina Moye four years ago, during a research interview for the documentary, Nice  & Rough: Black Women In Rock. Malina’s energy is infectious, and her determination is reflected in her resume. She is revered as one of the best guitarists in the land – and one of the only women invited to join the “Jimi Hendrix Experience.”  So here we go….5 questions and 5 Lbs. of ROCK!

SHEILA: Describe your brand of rock?

MALINA: I always say Funk-Rock. Rock is the base but the color tones are soul and funk. My goal is to take what influences me artistically from the iconic musical eras, and make it all contemporary. In my live performances, the fans can expect a lot of energy and who knows, maybe even a spiritual experience!

Mark Fusco, photographer

SHEILA: As a left-handed guitar player, you are often compared to Jimi Hendrix. Who are the women in rock who inspired you?

MALINA: Tina Turner, Heart! The Wilson sisters are incredible. I love Janis Joplin. I love the freedom she eludes on stage. I guess I was always interested in the women who were bringing it on stage like a man traditionally would – but as a woman.

SHEILA: What moment was been the highlight of your career – and why?

MALINA: There’s been so many good moments. I think one is playing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute concert for Chuck Berry with Chuck Berry in the audience…and then to rock with him onstage in the finale. It’s surreal when you actually see a person perform. Then suddenly you start running through other artists in your mind and realize, where/who Prince borrowed something from, or The Stones got something from – and it trickles down the line and somewhere, I interpret it into what I’m doing.

I felt so lucky to have my life intersect with his at that moment and to hear what he thought about me and my music. I made a lot friends that night and a few of those icons passed away shortly after. It really puts things in perspective. Treasure every moment.

SHEILA: You are about to release your new album, “Bad As I Wanna Be,” next month (March 23rd) What is the most powerful lyric from that album that makes you feel good, when you sing it?

MALINA: I love songwriting, it’s a part of me. I love telling stories – whether they are my truths or someone else’s. One of my favorite lyrics is from the song Enough. It’s says “when I was young, I thought the world owed me everything. Boy so much has changed. It seems to me, I cannot be what I need to be. The scar’s to deep oh.” I love this lyric. It’s about the scars of being American. I think it’s one of my favorite songs on the album.

SHEILA: Do you have a ritual – something special you do – before your performances?

MALINA: Yes, my dad tells me that I play with each one of my guitar pedals a few times a piece before a stage performance. Then, I generally walk around the venue before the show and say, “Please be good to me tonight.” I don’t know, it feels like I’m asking for permission to play there that night (lol).

You can keep up with Miss Moye at malinamoye.com

 

Sheila Dianne Jackson is an award-winning author, biographer and CEO of Eve’s Lime Productions. She is Director of  the upcoming documentary, “Nice & Rough: Black Women IN Rock.”

Posted on

TAMAR KALI TEAMS UP WITH DEE REES TO SCORE ‘MUDBOUND’

Songwriter, musician, rocker, Tamar Kali teamed up with award-winning director, Dee Rees to score Mudbound. Tamar made an appearance and contributed to the soundtrack of Dee Rees’, Pariah. This time Tamar scored the entire project, which was an official selection of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where it sold to Netflix for 12.5 million dollars.  The film has received 12 major nominations in the 2018 awards season, including an Oscar nom for Best Picture.

Mudbound is the story of two men – one white, one Black – who return home to rural Mississippi from World War II. They forge a friendship based on their shared war experiences, as they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war. In an interview with Billboard, Director Dee Rees, said,  “My hope for this score is that it would sound like it bubbled up from the earth, that it was ‘in the trees,’ and would simultaneously evoke the indifference of nature and the resilience of humanity. Tamar-kali did just that. She made the rocks cry out.”

 

Mudbound is currently available on Netflix. Click here for the Soundtrack.

Posted on

Rosetta Tharpe To Be Inducted Into Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame

Rosetta Tharpe, “The God-Mother of Rock N’ Roll” and “Mother of Black Women In Rock” will be inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame this Spring.  Sister Rosetta began singing and playing guitar in the ‘sanctified’ church – which frowned upon secular music, women wearing pants and anything other than heterosexuality. Despite  opposition, she persisted in both music worlds, and inspired the sound of early rock legends like Chuck Berry.

In the tradition of Nice & Rough, Sister Rosetta could only do it one way…. Unapologetic and powerful, like a parent to a child she passed down a legacy of  boldness, authenticity, sexual freedom, and an uncensored voice to new generations of Black Women In Rock!