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The Vocal Architect

The story of an architect who learned to create sound out of white noise.

By Iniko DixonPublished 4 years ago 7 min read
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Ekela (left)

When we are growing up, we tend to form bonds with people that remind us of home. We are drawn to things that feel familiar. Things that feel safe. For me, that was my sister. And oddly enough, we didn’t have a relationship for about 10 years.

When I was 6 years old, my sister made the conscious decision to leave the abusive household we were living in. At the time, I didn’t understand much of what was going on. I only knew that periodically, I would hear my father, my mother, my sister, and my stepmother yelling. I would hear loud thumps or screaming that would instantly turn silent. There was one moment that I remember so vividly. Not just because it was traumatic, but because it was fascinating, inspiring even. My sister was thrown down the steps by my father, and she got right back up and ran to fight back. Odd, I though to myself. Why isn’t she crying? Why isn’t she begging him to stop? Oh right: because women...BLACK women can not afford to do that. I learned that notion at a very young age.

Her name is Ekela. She is named after the Hugh Masekela, a South African musician. He was well known for writing songs about the apartheid that was going on in Africa. He was apart of the revolution. And soon she would be too. She just didn’t know it yet.

The 10 years we spent apart were necessary, I think. Without it, our art wouldn’t hit as hard, wouldn’t resonate as loudly as it should. During those 10 years, she went to live with my mother and my aunt. No matter where she was or what she was doing, her true passion, as long as she could remember, was to sing. To create. To inspire through sound. That was her saving grace. Middle school and high school was hard for her. Not because she wasn’t smart. She was just always the target for bullies. For people who were too insecure, too weak to come to terms with their own issues. Her safe haven was music. Singing in the church choir, training under BYC (Brooklyn Youth Chorus), singing at different concert halls, as well as performing with Bow Wow FOR Michael Jackson at his Thriller Anniversary in 2001. Meeting Elton John personally and being told that she is special. Even with all these moments, people still took advantage of her. Because you see, when there is energy so different and so new, there will always be vampires ready to suck it out of them.

Eventually, Ekela started recording her own music. She was actually signed to a reggae label at the age of 16. Kayla Bliss, was the name she went by. And there were highs. She would travel to Jamaica to record music, film content, and even go as far as to put out an album. But there also lows. On more than one occasion, she had been sexually assaulted by a person she trusted that was apart of that label. Someone I knew. I did not know who it was until she told me. And I always felt strange about them. Their energy was slimy. It felt like a mucus membrane. Gross. She said it was something she had shared with our family, but no one believed her. And that this was actually one of the reasons for the altercation I had witnessed back when I was 6 years old. So you see. Everything started to come together for me. Slowly. Softly.

This did not stop her though. No, far from it actually. She went harder. And around this time, she had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who, in retrospect, did not know how to love without hurting. Does it sound familiar? Do you remember, in the beginning? When I said that we tend to gravitate towards the things that feel comfortable. That feel familiar. For her, hurting from the ones we held dear...this was her familiar.

He did not know his father. And his mother was a crackhead. So you can only imagine the emotional abuse he put her through. I cannot even really begin to breakdown what it is that she went through. Because I did not experience it first hand. And just like most people who are special, Ekela was very good at hiding her voids. Her pain.

She was with him for 8 years. 10 years if you count the 2 years it took for them to actually break up. They had one child together. His name is Greyson. He was her light in her grey world. Having Greyson though, opened a whole new world for Ekela and her body. She had had complications before, when it came to conceiving, but after giving birth, the underlying cause was revealed.

In 2016, Ekela was diagnosed with having tumors in her uterus because the fibroids they found were not benign. It was a weird moment for me too. Because I had started to get a bit closer to her. And I wasn’t really sure how to be there for her during this very strange time. The tumors met 7 out of the 10 markers to be considered malignant. And so she was diagnosed with what’s called “uncertain malignant potential. So yes, she was diagnosed with cancer, they just couldn’t tell how much. She proceeded to have an abdominal myomectomy to surgically remove them so that she could have more children. She also refused chemotherapy. She said “I did one round of radiation therapy, and now I’m Spider-Man.” Im laughing at this right now because I know she’s serious.

If the medical complications were not enough, Ekela had to deal with slander from her now ex sister in law, who made a public post saying that she was lying about everything. The tumors, the cancer, the therapy. Strange isn’t it? People who are broken tend to prey on people are trying to put the pieces back together. A common theme in our story. While all of this was occurring, she was STILL consistently putting out music. GOOD music, okay? The kind of music that deserves Grammys. She wrote for plenty of other artists too. She has this ability to know a person before they even know themselves. That’s the secret to her songwriting. That’s the secret to how she creates. Empathy.

I was in Japan at the time, though. And it was her music that kept me going. I had a lot of low moments in Japan and I didn’t think I would make it back, but when I did, Ekela was the first person to call me and ask me if I wanted to come to some vocal classes she would begin teaching.

The first class was in September of 2016. It only had 5 people in it. She now teaches and develops over 400 singers. Independent and otherwise. The Voice Box. That’s the name. A place where artists from all walks of life can come and perfect their craft with no judgment or malice. Where creatives can go to just be without being told they are not good enough. This is her company. This is her. She manifested exactly what she was looking for. A place where artists go to heal while they learn. The universe is very funny though. And about a year and half into the beginning of this company, Ekela suffered an attack in a studio session. One side of her body went numb and she began to seize. She did not stop the session. She did not stop writing or recording til the song was done. And the minute it was, she dropped. We took her to the hospital to be told that she has an unknown neurological disorder. Several doctors have told her the same thing. Her epilepsy, is a symptom of this disorder. Medically, they were dumbfounded. Spiritually though, I knew exactly what she was. I knew it was the inner workings of the spirit, being remade, reborn, and renewed. The consequence of this attack was quite ironic and almost cruel to some folk. Shortly after it, she would lose about 80% of her vocal ability. He vocal chords just stopped working. Only one was able to. The voice I knew, became softer, more fragile. But it was loud. And it was determined. And it still could do more than anyone could with all of their voice. And so for another year, she trained all over again. She found her own vocal coach (and spiritual advisor) that did what no doctor could. He helped her find her voice again. Gradually, it’s coming back. She still thinks she has a ways to go. But I think that she will be better than fine. To me, she is a vocal architect. Building sounds out of nothing, making light out of dark...that is her purpose. To put her voice into those that feel as though they have none at all. This is Ekela. This is my sister. This is the black woman. And she inspires me to be my most authentic self. Black, non binary, poly, alien, different. Me. And I know that this is only the beginning of how far her inspiration will take her. And it is only a matter of time before the world knows her name.

siblings
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