Shemekia Copeland's AMERICA'S CHILD Streams On NPR Music's First Listen
Album set for August 3 release. Produced by Will Kimbrough with guests including John Prine, Mary Gauthier, Rhiannon Giddens, Emmylou Harris, J.D. Wilkes, Steve Cropper and others.
Shemekia Copeland is a powerhouse, a superstar…she can do no wrong.
--Rolling Stone
Shemekia Copeland is one of the great blues voices of our time. No one comes close to the sheer firepower that Copeland conjures at will.
--Chicago Tribune
America's Child is a groundbreaking, genre-bending work of beauty. Shemekia is one of the great singers of our time. This record introduces listeners to another side of her, and I predict it will result in many new fans. Her voice on these songs is nothing short of magic.
--Mary Gauthier
Shemekia Copeland is the real deal. America's Child goes deep and Shemekia‘s voice -- a national treasure -- carries the songs effortlessly, whether topical, personal, spiritual, political or just plain raucous fun. Shemekia rears back her head and what comes out is humanity made vocal.
--Will Kimbrough
NPR Music's First Listen will stream award-winning vocalist Shemekia Copeland's potent new Alligator Records album, America's Child, in its entirety beginning Thursday, July 26 through the album's official release date of Friday, August 3. Writer Jewly Hight says the album is "an act of artistic evolution" and highlights its "slow-burning soul" and "confrontational intensity." Listen here.
Produced by Americana Instrumentalist Of The Year winner Will Kimbrough (who also plays guitar on the album) and recorded in Nashville, America's Child is a courageous and fiery statement of purpose, a major step forward for the singer whose musical consciousness continues to expand as her star continues to rise. In their just-published four-star review of the album, MOJO says, "Shemekia's voice is rich, soulful and totally commanding."
America's Child (her eighth album) is Copeland's most compelling work yet, with music swelling beyond blues and into spirited Americana, with elements of rock, soul, and country. Her instantly recognizable voice—capable of being sultry, assertive and roaring—delivers every song with unparalleled honesty and passion. The three-time Grammy nominee’s wide-open vision of contemporary Americana roots and soul music showcases the evolution of a passionate artist with an up-to-the-minute musical and lyrical approach. From America's Child's anthemic opening track, Ain’t Got Time For Hate, to the closing lullaby, the traditional Go To Sleepy Little Baby, Shemekia sings with passion and insight about the chaos and uncertainty in the world while still finding joy all around her.
With guests including John Prine, Rhiannon Giddens, Mary Gauthier, Emmylou Harris, Steve Cropper, J.D. Wilkes, Al Perkins and members of the Time Jumpers, America’s Child bursts with Copeland’s bravado and embraces with her tenderness. Gauthier and songwriter/executive producer John Hahn wrote two striking songs for the project. Smoked Ham And Peaches is a search for truth and tranquility in America, featuring Giddens on African banjo. Americans celebrates our collective diversity in all its forms and colors. American music legend Prine joins Shemekia for a stirring duet on his own Great Rain. Guitar great Cropper adds his scorching playing to the ballad Promised Myself, written by Shemekia's father, the late bluesman Johnny Clyde Copeland. And her version of I'm Not Like Everybody Else transforms the Kinks song into a blues-fueled declaration of independence.
With the birth of her son Johnny Lee Copeland-Schultz in 2016, Shemekia, with fresh eyes, began to take an even deeper look at the state of the world. Of the new album, she says, “After having a child, I started thinking about the world I brought him into, how it actually is and how I wished it was and all the things he will have to go through. And to live in this world today, you have to have a strong foundation like I did to make it through. So that’s what 'America’s child' means to me. I’m truly grateful to all the artists that joined me on this record – it wasn’t about the genre for anyone, it was about the music and mutual love and respect.”
Upon release of America's Child, Copeland will tour nationwide, including a showcase performance at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville in September.
