Nina Simone

Mississippi Goddam , To be Young Gifted and Black,Four Women, and FeelingGood. I am sure that we all have heard these songs at some part of our lives. For generations, these songs have been a part of our lexicon. We have seen movies made about her, newer artist have sampled her works not truly understanding the deeper meanings behind the songs that fueled the 60's and the 70's.

Mississippi Goddam...... Do we need to say anything. Nina said that this song was about her frustrations and anger over the deaths of the four young girls as well as that of Medgar Evers. According to various articles that i read, throughout the 60's, Nina would change the line "Tennessee made me lose my rest" to suit where she may have been performing to describe the civil unrest that was happening such as when she sang for “Selma,” after the brutal police confrontation with peaceful marchers across Alabama’s Edmund Pettus bridge in 1965. This would be her first battle cry in the field of civil rights.

To be Young, Gifted, and Black was written as a dedication to Lorraine Hansberry, who had written the brilliant play "A Raisin In The Sun" and was one of Nina's friends. They had met and bonded over civil rights and radical politics. After Lorraine's death, Nina would write the song to help young black children realize their potential and feel good about themselves. Almost immediately after debuting the song, it would sweep the world and other artist such as Donny Hathaway and Aretha Franklin would also record their own versions of the song in later years.

Nina wasn't always a militant singer, my first exposure to her was as a young teenager and i first heard the song "I Put a spell on You." At the time, i had no idea who the artist was but the song just drew me in and captivated me.

This song still grabs me and stirs my heart but not as some of her other work such 4 women which has also been done by her daughter Lisa Simone. Four women is the song that really gets me going and makes me feel glad to be a woman even as it tell the stories of four different women from slavery on up throughout the generations.

How and why are these still relevant to today's generation? There are so many reasons why these songs are still relevant to today's generation. Mississippi Goddam, in being one of the first historical protest songs regarding civil rights and liberties, pulled from its ancient past into the present that was then but the problems that were faced then are still the same ones we have today just in different ways. Yes we have made some strides regarding the pain and atrocities of most of the 20th century but it seems as though we haven't learned much from the past.

Regarding " To Be Young, Gifted, and Black," the reason why this song is and will always be relevant and needed in today's generations is because it is needed to give our younger brothers and sisters then encouragement of knowing that we can be anything. When this song was originally made, it was during a time that black children only saw themselves in limited spaces. Today, our young people see themselves not just in the sphere of sports, but also as CEO's, Presidents, entrepreneurs and so much more.

For me, the other two songs are just classic awesome music. Music can make a movie, influence the mood of a movement, and totally relax a person . Nina's music does all of that for more than 40 years.