Danielia Cotton: A rare child hidden in plain sight
2008-08-08
By Rob Fields
Rocker Danielia Cotton is a Black woman from the self-described “small, white town” of Hopewell, New Jersey and who was as equally influenced by the AC/DC, Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones her friends were listening to, as she was by her jazz singer mother who sang in the church gospel choir and gave her a deep love of Etta James, Mavis Staples, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. These influences come together beautifully on her second full-length album, “Rare Child,” an album that bristles with energy and authenticity from start to finish.
Her voice reminds you of both Janis Joplin with shades of Melissa Etheridge—all the power, but with a more melodious edge that enables her to move from throaty roar to soaring highs with ease. Of course, she’s got the power to belt. But she restrains herself just as much as she cuts loose, so that the effect is that she never overdoes the big, blow-you-out-the-room, kill-a-song-with unnecessary-melisma voice that’s so common among many of today’s R&B singers and “American Idol” contestants. Her control also ensures that she never overshadows her songs.
For Danielia, love and life are complicated, and she’s not afraid to admit to what she’s facing. On one hand are the songs that declare her independence (see the title song, “Rare Child”, where she hooks you with the chorus “I’m a rare child, set to make history/I’m a rare child, because I’m me/A rare, rare child and I’m seriously on fire/I can be anything that I wanna be/Because I’m free”). On the other, there are the ones that show her longing for connection and intimacy (check the standout ballads “Let It Ride” and “Bound” at the end of the album). And in “Running,” the love who did her wrong gets another chance, even though she knows it makes no sense:
I felt it comin’ on, something was wrong/A pull deep in my chest, an overwhelming weariness/And after all this time, there’s a path that leads me back to you/The holes you made in me can’t fade these memories
It’s significant, I think, that she starts the album by making it crystal clear that she’s not just another pretty face. Check out “Make U Move” where she says outright, “I don’t need no nasty moves to win you over.” Makes sense: If you have a powerful voice, learned an instrument, are a really strong songwriter and can lead a band, why would you need to shake your behind?
So where can you hear Danielia? Those willing to venture to rock radio stations will be rewarded with a young Black woman who--in stark contrast to the R&B Stepford Wives the music industry still insists on promoting--is not afraid to artfully and honestly bear her soul.
A rare child, indeed.
Rob Fields is a music marketer and presenter who covers Black rock on his blog http://www.boldaslove.us
