Chanda—Oh, That Voice!

                                                                                 

Where She’s From: “I like to say I was born amidst the bump n’ grind of the Windy City in the Disco-Funk Era. My Chicago was full of color, snow, R&B music, church, and school,� lovely Chanda Rule tells The Black Star News. “I have a very spiritual and academic family.  My great-grandmother went back to school when she was 60 to get her GED. She was a role model for my dad, who passed on this fervor for education and knowledge-seeking to me. Along with that, he taught me that my opinion, my hopes and my dreams, always mattered. He encouraged me to love God and express myself.�

Chanda attended the Black Mecca of academics, Howard University in Washington, DC and studied Journalism and Advertising. “The spark for my career ignited during my first job after college,� she recalls. “I was a spokesperson for Oscar Mayer and traveled around in the Wienermobile. I remember singing on stage in this huge auditorium as a joke. But inside I was like, ‘man, this feels good.’ A few years later, after working in Public Relations and Marketing, I did my first musical, Hair, in Amsterdam and Milan.�

“While performing in musical theatre, I released a CD of original R&B music in 2005,� Chanda adds.�

Where She’s At: Many of Chanda’s songs are arrangements of old Spirituals. “I believe that the voices of my ancestors are speaking through me, through song. It’s already developing into more than I can imagine—more singing, traveling, collaborating, creating, building, rejoicing, evolving.�

Chanda recalls how she overcame a challenge. “While recording my CD, seven tracks got erased. I won’t pretend that this didn’t send my head reeling. But eventually, after getting quiet, and really asking myself what I needed to learn from this, I saw that my vision had been too small, and that those tracks needed to be re-recorded to represent a larger vision.�

Chanda has performed with many well-known artists, including as a lead vocalist with jazz drummer Victor Jones. She sang along side internationally acclaimed musicians such as Mino Cinelu, Papo Vasquez and John Benitez. An opening artist for Regina Belle & The Whispers, India.Arie, Angela Bofill, and Amel Larrieux, she has also performed at various jazz and music festivals, Birdland, Le-Club Moscow, Hard Rock Café, and the Jazz Standard.

Chanda has also performed as a guest artist with Osubi Craig and Prophecy Music Project, a group of musicians who fuse traditional African rhythms with Afro-Cuban, Latin, jazz, and blues to teach world history and promote cultural awareness, at the Bethlehem Musikfest, University of Maryland – College Park, and Widner University. 

Where She’s Heading: “My second CD will be released in April. I’m at the stage where I create music that speaks to my heart and not what I think the industry wants. But each stage is like a rebirth in a way. I’m constantly evolving. My goal is to musically speak my truth, and to encourage people to do the same. My goal is to create sacred music—that is, music that uplifts, brings a smile, a tear, a laugh, but ultimately inspires evolution.� The CD melds African-American folk music with moveable grooves and jazzy lullabies.

Chanda’s Words Of Wisdom: “‘The best way to live is to live like water,’ which is from the Tao Te Ching.�
Chanda’s Secrets Of success: “My relationship with God, friends, and family.�
Chanda’s Favorite All Time Three Movies: “Color Purple, Frida, Kama Sutra.�
Chanda’s Favorite All Time Three Books: “Alice Walker’s Temple of My Familiar,
Iyanla Vanzant’s Tapping the Power Within, and Ntzoke Shange’s Nappy Edges.�
The First Three Things Chanda Would Do As President: “Bring the troops home, establish free health care, and revamp the Public School system.�

To find out more about this beauty with the velvet voice and get your copy of the CD please visit:

http://www.myspace.com/chandarule


Chanda can also be reached via [email protected]

 

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