Two Things Thursday #24

1. Small Hours by Amber Navran via YouTube
2. Jamaica Kincaid Quote

1. Small Hours is a short mix of nothing but goodness from Amber Navran, lead singer of the group Moonchild. Even though she isn’t a wailer or a singer with deep lungs like Jill Scott or Algebra Blessett, she can definitely hold her own against them.

She is a beast behind massive beats and stellar production with her variations of scatting and rhythmic tuning and vocal tones. I love how she can interchange jazz vocals with a bit of pop and bop, too. When I listen to her, I can hear so many vocalists chiming in through her voice from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

It’s odd to see/hear her performing alone. Apparently, she has dropped an entire solo album recently, and I am so far behind on this, but I shall be sitting down one day to give it the listen I’m sure it deserves.

I hope you enjoyed the above YouTube video share of Small Hours. I love everything about it! I just hate that it’s not long enough. A song like that should LEGIT be three minutes (at least), IMHO.


2. Jamaica Kincaid Quote is the second share for today. Jamaica is an author, gardener, and a Professor of African American and African studies. She is the author of the following books: Annie John (one of my favorites), A Small Place, and Lucy. And this list does not even begin to cover her achievements in the writing world. I own all three books and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I’ve read Lucy and Annie John twice.

The above quote hit home so hard that I had to share it. Many of us believe we know who we are. We believe we have gotten ourselves down to a TEE. But really, do we? As human beings, we are constantly evolving and growing, so it’s almost impossible to truly know who we are. Therefore, emerging as this mystery Ms. Kincaid refers to.

The question is really, how many of us are willing to admit this?