4. Nina SimoneThe Essential Nina Simone
She’s another one it’s hard to pick just one record, but I had this particular Essentials since I was around 17. My sister’s name is Simone, after her – we grew-up listening to her. I went to see Nina Simone when I was 14, it was like her first show in around 14 years and it happened to be in Philadelphia. And I saw her another time in New York when I was more grown. She was interesting because she’d come on-stage and cuss out the crowd, ‘Leave!’. She was wild. It was cool to be able to see that in the flesh. The best thing about Nina Simone is her sense of melody, because you never know where she’s going, note-wise. Normally if you’re into music you can guess a melody, but she always makes her own way and you can never guess. I think that really influenced me. She’s so soulful when she sings, although when I heard one of her records as a kid I thought she was a man. Which is cool – her voice has this richness to it, so it’s so unique already, but then the emotion that she puts into it… You don’t get many singers like that anymore. Her and Aretha.
