Ingrid Arthur
Watch this: "This is My Body" video
I first met Ingrid Arthur last summer alongside several other immensely-talented African American artists living in Berlin. I'll never forget that night. It was electrifying the energy in that club. She was singing Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and totally destroyed the audience with her powerful stage presence and gritty, fatback-laced mezzo soprano. In other words, she can straight up SANG. However, it wasn't until much later that I discovered the rich backstory to this talent. A former member of the legendary Weather Girls, Arthur is a staple on the European festival circuit with her tantalizing mixture of soul, blues, dance and gospel, and she has performed for the likes of Cissy Houston, Bette Midler and even President Barack Obama.
Fortunate for us, she has recently decided to emerge from the sidelines into the spotlight with her first solo track, "This Is My Body." The tune, produced by Philipp von Rothkirch, is funky, fun and sensual all at the same time. The accompanying video features Arthur and some friends in a colorful, empty garage they've decided to turn into a futuristic roller rink. Imagine the garage from Michael Jackson's "Bad" video but with the color scheme from much of the movie The Wiz. I loved it! All I needed was some cornbread to go with my fatback (you can't find Jiffy in Germany, unfortunately). Maybe with some convincing, we'll get Ingrid to perform stateside soon.
Get funky with Ingrid and press play on the "This Is My Body" video right here, and keep up with this firecracker on her website and Facebook page.
