Shelly Nicole's blaKbüshe | B-Side

Shelley Nicole—the mainspring behind Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe—is simultaneously a product, a witness and architect of Black-on-Black love, a calling that has informed all of her work as a singer, writer, composer, actor, poet, musician and a healer. It is the tap root of her latest work, I Am American, a collection of songs written by her and produced by award-winning guitarist, composer and producer Vernon Reid of the band Living Colour. I Am American is a testament to both Shelley’s vision and her band/collective blaKbüshe that she’s presided since 1999. Combined with Vernon Reid’s guidance and her extended family of exceptional creatives who lent their talents and love to the project. I Am American harkens back to the Golden Age of classic albums that embraced collaborative energy from diverse, paramount artists.To that end, I Am American, the third blaKbüshe release, is Shelley’s sonically and topically valiant mission statement of self-empowerment, self-determination, self-love and self-care. The album is a genre-defying blend of rock, soul, blues, jazz and funk that tells a story of women reclaiming their cultural identity, their psychic refuge and their personal agency. The project is part of the continuum of audacious, self-confident and eclectic Black sisterhood that extends from Rosetta Tharpe to Nina Simone to Betty Davis to Labelle to Joan Armatrading to Meshell Ndegeocello. •••• The B-Side Podcast is produced by Charlie Hoxie, Kecia Cole, Ro Johnson and Sachar Mathias; recorded by Onel Mulet and Steve de Seve; and edited by Emily Boghossian and Khyriel Palmer. For more information on B-Side and all BRIC RADIO podcasts, visit www.bricartsmedia.org/radio