Rhoda Nkojo
9th Annual R&B Album Nominee
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Genre: R&B
HOMEBASE/COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Born in Kampala, Uganda; raised in McLean, Virginia and currently residing in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
ALBUM NOMINATED: Rhoda
WHERE WAS THE ALBUM RECORDED? EastSide Sound Studios, New York, NY
WHERE IS YOUR MUSIC AVAILABLE? iTunes, CD Baby, DigStation, Numberonemusic.com, Amazon, myspace.com/rhodankojo,rhodankojo.com
WHICH GENRES BEST DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC? R&B/Pop
IS THERE A THEME TO THE ALBUM? The various incarnations of love and its effect on oneself through the principal relationships/experiences in life, i.e. first love, paternal love, the love of a best friend, the love for a mentor, love lost, betrayal and finally, self-love.
WHAT UNUSUAL INSTRUMENTS OR TECHNIQUES DID YOU USE ON THIS ALBUM? There was nothing unusual about our technique, but there was one common thread in our approach to create music. We (my producer Kareem A. Walkes and I) wrote what we were feeling at the very moment we created the songs. In a sense, the music wrote us. Kareem would compose all of the music based on a certain emotion he felt at the moment and I would probe him for insight into what he was feeling. Then, I would listen to the music and let the lyrics and melodies spill out of me stream of mental and heart consciousness. We sought to challenge ourselves to write music that made you feel and to recreate and ultimately reinforce those feelings with melodies and then with lyrics.
DID FANS HELP FUND THIS PROJECT? No but they’ve been supportive from the start and we greatly appreciate it.
WHO IS SITTING IN YOUR AUDIENCE? I’m one of those lucky artists with an everyman appeal. I’ve been fortunate to have a broad demographic appreciate my music: young, old and various ethnicities. This is extremely gratifying because we wanted to create music for everyone to enjoy.
WHAT MAKES YOUR FANS UNIQUE? What I just mentioned, that they represent a broad spectrum.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO PLAY? I love to play anywhere there is an audience open to appreciate music.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? Getting nominated for this award!
WHAT’S IN THE WORKS FOR 2010? Recording my third album.
FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS… In flux, which hopefully makes more room for unsigned artists.
WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS? Moving someone to spontaneous tears of joy, or even to dance after/while performing one of my songs.
WHAT’S ON YOUR IPOD THAT WOULD SURPRISE YOUR FANS? The Police; Maceo Parker and Sarah McLachlan.
NAME SOME ARTISTS YOU ARE CHAMPIONING: Patti LaBelle- she released a beautiful single earlier this year and her voice is as stunning as ever; The Dave Matthews Band because they’re still doing it well and true to form after all these years; The Vitamin String Quartet because they do lovely things with those strings; and Maxwell because he came back strong and also true to beautiful form.