by Tiffany Livingston

Our culture is saturated in pure soul and through our music; we sing and perform songs of the Gospel, rhythm and blues, rock, funk, conscious lyrical hip-hop, and rap music. Growing up in the 90’s was a black liberating era listening to artists such as, Arrested Development, KRS-One, Tupac, and too many great black music artists to name. I took pride in being black only because the songs resonated with me. I started to become conscious of my blackness and for the first time in my life, I began to see racism and the mistreatment of my people for what it was because the music provoked me to open my eyes (Woke). I was becoming of age at the perfect time, becoming aware, strong-minded and took pride in celebrating my blackness through music.

Growing up, music always played in the house. Sounds ranged from Gospel to Funk, Soul, R&B and the ever so infamous Hip-Hop. We would do our chores Saturday morning and cook dinner, dancing and singing along to music. The famous words my Father used to say to me (and he still does till this day) were “Who’s that Singing?” My job was to not guess, but know who it was especially since they were black artists. Arrested Development released a song called Tennessee. It was 1992 and I was about 9 years old. I was probably wearing pattern vests, silk/polyester shirts, and patent leather shoes (LOL). The song wasn’t too far from my first intro to music “Gospel”. Front man MC Speech rapped about black awareness and asked God for his direction during a troubling time; A prayer in the form of song over a hip-hop beat. It felt good to be black. I felt the love through the music, movies and the books I read. Self-love, reflection, and bold expressions is what black music is for me.

The following year in the late Fall of 1993 music began to take a turn into political hip-hop when KRS-One’s controversial single Black Cop was released. The track “Black Cop” was a song that challenged the thoughts of black men who willfully joined and accepted position as a police officer. Why would a black man want to become apart of a system whose goal has always been to kill, taunt, and destroy urban communities as a people? Black slave turned black cop is not logical– KRS-One. Police Brutality has been an on-going issue for centuries, not decades. He was just shedding light on the issue and he rapped about it. My people, like many others, have had too long of a journey fighting just to live. Sadly! This song is so fresh and prevalent in 2020 (Victim Name Here) and it’s shameful, scary and makes us feel unsafe. We are not a scared people and we fight back. We fight through our music and we fight through our voices to fight injustice and systemic racism. I could go on and on, but my goal is to celebrate Black Music. KRS didn’t stop there. He ended the Return of the Boom Bap  (1993) album with the single, Sound of the Police. It was my freshman year in High School in 1996  KRS-One released another challenge, but it was for music artists with Step Into a World. “Yo, I’m strictly about skills, and dope lyrical coastin’ relying on talent, not marketing and promotion”.(Step into A World) – KRS-One

Before J. Cole’s Change and Kendrick Lamar’s Alright there was another conscious/Hip-hop artist on TV named Tupac Shakur (2pac). I remember watching The Box music video channel and Urban Xpressions (Philadelphia TV) show waiting for my favorite artist’s videos to come on. It was the highlight of the weekend and something to talk about Monday morning at school. If you know of Tupac you may have been told only about his “Gangster Rapper” persona from his time with Death Row Records, but I know him as a Poet, Expressionist, Actor and Activist. While making music, Tupac was gaining film credits in a few fan favorites, Juice and Poetic Justice. During this time he continued to make music and in 1993 Tupac showed the Sista’s some love with his  Keep Ya Head Up  single featuring Dave Hollister from (Blackstreet):

“Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots I give a holla to my sisters on welfare Tupac cares, if don’t nobody else care.” -Tupac (Keep Ya Head Up).

He continued his love for black women with another song Dear Momma a tribute to his own Mother/Activist the late Afeni Shakur. On September 13, 1996 Tupac Shakur was assassinated. The hip-hop community lost not one, but two great artist and not even a full year later on March 9, 1997 The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie) was also assassinated. I know a lot of folks question the word assassination when it comes to a “Rapper” as they would say, but they were more than that.

Both deaths affected the black community and as a teenager at that time I was angry, we were angry. We hate violence in our communities as well as racist cops (not every cop) killing black men and women, which has been going on for far too long. The music Tupac made was for his people and the gangsters too. One of my all-time favorites is the song Changes recorded in (1992), then later released in 1998 added to his Greatest Hits Album 1998 . He spoke on black-on-black crime, police brutality, and ways to heal the black community:

“And the only time we chill is when we kill each other It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other. And although it seems heaven-sent, we ain’t ready to see a black president”. – Tupac (Changes).

Little did he know 13 years after his death a black man from Chicago named Barack Obama became America’s President in 2009. I wish he was still alive to see that some things do eventually change, and some stay the same. Most of the time us black folks know that, “that’s just the way it is things will never be the same”. (Changes)

Beast Mode, shot by Philly Music Videos, highlights the brutality experienced by African Americans during this time of Quarantine. Featuring Marcus G and Xin, these artist go all out to address what’s occurring in minority communities throughout the states.

“My purpose on this earth is to bless people with my voice. I have made numerous people cry since I have birthed the ideas of performing for people virtually. People call me #SuDat which stands for Spiritual, Unique, Divine, Artist, Thankful. The purpose of my brand is to bring truth and life while also inspiring the ears of all of my listeners. My purpose is also to uplift, spread love and light, and be the essence of #SuDat.”

So, what’s your origin story? I am a singer-songwriter from Uptown Philadelphia (West Oak Lane) to be exact. I was 5 years young when my mother had me in the church choir at Second Macedonia Baptist Church. I didn’t realize I could sing until I was about 10 years old during an after-school program play where I sang Joyful Joyful by Lauryn Hill from Sister Act. She later had me audition for The City of Philadelphia’s Young Performance Theater Camp and that’s where my skills were really developed.

Given that we’re under quarantine, how has COVID-19 affected you?Well, I immediately packed up my bags and left New York as soon as I got word that the city would be shutting down. I came back home to Philadelphia so I could be with my family. This has been a blessing for me because this is the longest we’ve all been in the house together. I like that this is allowing us to bond. I of course no longer have the ability to perform at large events which is how I made the bulk of my money. This has definitely reminded me of the importance of having multiple streams of income and to not have all of my eggs in one basket.

How would you describe the feeling(s) you have being under quarantine? I feel good. I feel more aware of the reality of the world we live in. I am grateful for the time I’ve had to reflect and catch up with friends and I am enjoying going down the rabbit hole on things that are happening in the world behind the scenes. It’s like I’m in the Wizard of Oz and I’m being revealed about the man behind the curtain. 

What’s your most memorable experience of the shutdown so far? Being successful at planning a surprise caravan with my family for my grandparents 65th anniversary where we brought out Fox News and they did a beautiful story on them. Also starting my first garden.

What are you doing with your Quarantine time? I am planning to protect myself and my family, I am gardening and growing food, I am educating my network about the importance of Financial education and I am working my new Virtual business.

Quarantine has turned many people inward to bridge gaps created by COVID-19. How is your brand adapting to the times? I recently started a virtual business where I sing Happy Birthday via Zoom, 3-way calls or on voice mails. I also received a nice portion of bookings for Mother’s day where I created customized greetings and sang a medley of songs that were sent through a private video link or I sang in a  live Zoom full of families and women.

What do have cooked up for 2020? I have a few videos and projects in the works. I am dropping a project with DDot Angelettie called “Vibrate High” which has a very retro Philly sound. I also have some work that I’ve created during Quarantine. I’m working on developing a branch of my FLY Star program held under my non-profit SCH Creative & Performing Arts, for aspiring artists. I have learned a lot as an independent, self-managed artist over the years and I would like to shorten the learning curve for up and coming artists so they are well aware about what it truly takes to be successful in this business. 

One of the many things I admire about you is your hair. Do you have any music or hair tips for people during this time? Music tips would be to pay attention to what you are listening to. Make sure the lyrics are good for you because this isn’t the time to fill your brain with things that do not benefit you. Listen to 432 htz at night while sleeping and let your true hair be. You may actually grow to  like it. 

Any last words or shout outs to your fans and support people? I am truly grateful for all of my fans and supporters. Thank you so much for inspiring me to keep doing what I love to do and there will be more music soon.

To stay up to date with Suzann Christine, please follow her on social media and visit her website for more information.