When Saidah Baba Talibah struts onstage, the room – any room – suddenly turns silent and then, almost instantaneously, bursts into applause. Applause that are intermingled with anticipation and perhaps, a bit of relief….one glance at the self-assured singer and the audience knows that she is going to deliver the goods. Her band quickly connects and locks into her groove – a distinct and fluid blend of bluesy rock, deep funk and hot buttered soul, but it‟s the singer that the audience gravitates to. It‟s not just her powerful voice, which can go from a seductive, soft purr to a powerful bellow at the turn of a dime – it‟s that she embodies the part of them that wants to be unique and free.
But as audiences live through Saidah, many do not realize that as an accomplished singer and songwriter, she has always lived through them. Born and raised in Canada, her music has been greatly influenced by Toronto‟s musical and ethnic enclaves. She first created stories that reflect the multitude of sounds and styles emanating from the city as a founding member of the seminal soul/rock group Blaxäm and was prominently featured on their 1998 EP, Kiss My Afro. While performing with the genre-bending soul/rock group, she learned how the audience could influence her writing and in return, how she could affect their lives. “I was able to tell my story and know that there was someone in the audience that could relate and say, „oh. I‟m not a weirdo. I can feel raunchy if I want to, I can be demure if I want to. I can just be.”
The daughter of Salome Bey, Saidah credits the internationally renowned jazz/blues singer and actress for her talent and ambition. “I would say that I got everything by my mother. She influenced me a lot, because I spent a lot of time watching her,” she says. Adding that coming from an extremely talented and musical family – in addition to her Tony and Grammy-nominated mother (who has also won a Dora Award) her uncle, Andy Bey, also a Grammy-nominated musician – she says that growing up in a family where the arts were respected, gave her the confidence to embark on a solo career.
With the encouragement of her family, Saidah entered the Claude Watson School for the Arts in Toronto, where she received formal training as a dancer and minored in visual arts and music. At 19, she entered the professional musical theatre world as part of the Toronto touring cast of Showboat and eventually won roles in Ragtime, Not Wanted on the Voyage and Love & War. Saidah was honored to be a part of the smash hit, Djanet Sears The Adventures of a Black Girl In Search Of God and was featured on the original cast CD recording.
Since then, she has accomplished a myriad of artistic projects, such as being a featured vocalist at the Quincy Jones Gala as a part of Harbourfront‟s World Leaders Series, hosting the showcases Skiffle in my Ear and Good Sounds Good, also singing with the legendary musical collective. While teaching singing and songwriting to youth she also provided backup vocals for several of Canada‟s Hip-Hop and R&B artists, as well as a member of the Canadian Idol backing band where she not only backed the Idol contestants, but also artist such as: Roger Hodgson (Supertramp), Dennis DeYoung (STYX), Tom Jones and Enrique Iglesias. Most recently she‟s been touring Canada with multi-platinum selling country singer Johnny Reid. By working with artists from a myriad of musical backgrounds she found herself discovering new ways transmit her unique style to the masses.
Her most recent project was conceived by accident. After a songwriting session with her guitarist, Saidah decided to use her cell phone to record their work so she could later work on the rough cuts. After sharing the recordings with others, not only did they love the music, they also remarked on the slightly grainy quality, which reminded them of the textured sound of early vinyl recordings. The recordings had an eerie similarity with Saidah‟s personality: An old soul who creates new and vibrant work with new technology but through her voice and spirit, she acknowledges the musical greats whose spirits helped shape who she is as a dynamic and unique performer. Bolstered by the reaction, Saidah decided to create, a collection of songs inspired from those recordings which she calls The Phone Demos, due for digital release in October 2009.
“The plan is to release it, and practically give it away, so it‟s like something for people to take home and get to know the raw beginnings of the songs”, she explains. “It‟s important to me that listeners are privy to that journey.” Intrigued with stretching the boundaries of musical styles, investigating the interplay between the much-considered „traditional‟ genres and more contemporary sounds, she is excited with the results and cannot wait for others to listen to them. While promising to deliver her special concoction of rock, funk and soul, she utilizes a sousaphone to deliver the steady, bottom-bass rhythms for her groove, and emphasizes the strings (violin, cello), bringing them up to the forefront – not replacing the guitar, but riding on top, using the beautiful and harrowing sounds to accentuate the music and the meanings within her lyrics.
Just like the music and the singer/songwriter, the development of Saidah‟s production style is unconventional and unique. Seeking a stronger connection, Saidah applied the same practice that her artistic friends were doing by collaborating with her fanbase in the recording process of making an album, which goes beyond just getting into the studio. By encouraging her fans to get involved by pre-purchasing her album, she thought that it would be a great way to develop a stronger connection and give her supporters the opportunity to be directly involved.
She created Make Me Wanna (S)Cream, a loyalty program so fans of her music could participate in the production of her upcoming projects. Based on the level of contribution, participants can choose from a collection of gifts and opportunities, all personally involving Saidah and items that reflect her personality and beliefs - from distinctive gift packages to a dinner and a private acoustic performance in the privacy of their own home.
Saidah explains her musical career as something that is not just a natural extension of her family‟s musical legacy, but an organic part of who she is as an individual, and when she performs, all of who she is and will be, pours out.
Collages L. MOLET (2009)
