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A isha's album, "on the corner of 7th and trade", shows off her talent not only as a writer and spoken
word artist, but as a producer as well. This is her first album, placing her poetry, old and new, into an artistic form for
ears to listen attentively and for minds to be fed. From her dedication to Nina Simone (sugar) to her vocal love letter to
her lover (you got me), Aisha blends eclectic sounds of the city and country, as well as the well-looped beatnic drumplay
with the sounds of Africa circling around each syllable.
This album was my saving grace, so to speak, after my divorce from Ishmael and some of
the hardships that came with it. I stopped in the middle of the production to mourn the loss of my marriage in
the summer of 2003. On what was suppose to had been our anniversary, I left my heart and those memories sitting on the
steps where we did our wedding vows and went back to work...I locked myself in my home and finished what I
had started. For me, like most of my sistas who've been performing for the past several years, this was my
therapy, my saving grace. I had a lot to say and reasons to say them, simply because I knew that there were some
topics on the album that people were facing day to day, from suicide to loss of a love. And, for what it's worth, even
the happier side of the album, life falling in love with either words or another person. I believe that
I didn't create this album in vain, because for those that had the opportunity to hear my words before reading the books,
they were touched. If I never go into the studio again, I know that what I created this time was my gospel, my
tears of joy and my screams for attention.
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| Click the picture to listen to the album |
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| Aisha Raison on Spiller Hill in Ripley, Tennessee during the Summer of 2003 |
A Kiss To Build A Dream On...My Dedication
When I cut my first poem on this album (You
Got Me), I was trying to impress a guy that I had fallen for.
At the time, I had stopped writing and gave up for the 50th time, thinking that
I had already passed my prime. I started writing poetry when I was 12, but didn't take it seriously until I was 20. There
have been few things in my life that made me stop creating. During the 50th time, I had given up on myself and my writing
because of circumstances that were happening around me…things that I couldn't control.
Then I ran into my muse.
My grandmother used to say that some people walk into your life and sometimes
you end up in places you where you need to be. As I look back, he came out of nowhere and filled a void just in time.
He, being an artist and musician, understood the craziness that I was going through, and from him, I learned to laugh at some
of the drama and leave it where it was created.
From him, I recieved life-long lessons, friendship, calm moments and music...
And out of nowhere, he gave me the most innocent lip embrace that I have ever
experienced on a warm summer evening.
With one kiss, he inspired a creative source that had not been tapped for
a long time. He became my muse and a good friend that I didn't mind sharing a cigarette and my evenings with. While working
on this album, there were nights where I would stay up until I finished writing or composing new beats…and he would
cross my mind.
It's hard to imagine, but it took one evening to turn everything
in my life upside down. And I mean that in a great, genuine way. I wish him the best in every endeavor and I dedicate this
album to him.
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