Songs of Our Native Daughters

The idea for Our Native Daughters was conceived by Giddens whose previous album, Freedom Highway, dealt with slavery and the Civil Rights Era.{{cite web|last=Hermes|first=Will|title=Valerie June and the Intersectional Protest Folk LPs Defining Nu-America|work=Rolling Stone|date=March 8, 2017|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/valerie-june-and-the-intersectional-protest-folk-lps-defining-nu-america-123526/|access-date=May 2, 2019}} The project was inspired by two experiences. The first was a visit she made with her seven-year-old daughter to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. During a private tour, Giddens encountered a quote from an 18th century poem that she felt needed to be in a song:

{{quote|text=I am shock'd at the purchase of slaves

...but I must be mum, for how could we do without sugar or rum?|sign=William Cowper|source="Pity for Poor Africans"{{cite web|url=https://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Slavery/articles/ullathorne.html

|title=History in Focus, Slavery: How Could We Do Without Sugar and Rum?|last=Ullathorne|first=Graham |date=Spring 2007|website=history.ac.uk|publisher=Institute of Historical Research, University of London|access-date=May 2, 2019}}}}

Her second experience was a screening of Nate Parker's controversial 2016 film Birth of a Nation. In the album's liner notes, Giddens writes that she was upset by the scene in the film where an enslaved woman is raped by the plantation owner's friend. What particularly outraged Giddens was that the camera was on the face of the woman's husband, not on her suffering.

Giddens' original intent was to make art from historical words and observations about slavery. She also wanted to focus on the banjo and its role in 19th century black minstrel music. After some reflection, as well as conversations with Dirk Powell, she decided to do a collaborative project that would include other black female artists. The concept for the album began to change during the early recording sessions as Russell, Kiah and McCalla suggested a range of ideas for new songs centering on the legacies that helped shape the present day identity of black women. With that, Giddens broadened the theme to emphasize stories of "struggle, resistance and hope".{{cite web|last=Lingan|first=John|title=Rhiannon Giddens Is Reclaiming the Black Heritage of American Folk Music|publisher=Time, Inc.|date=February 21, 2019|url=https://time.com/5534379/songs-of-our-native-daughters-music-review/|access-date=May 2, 2019}}{{cite web|last=Weber|first=Charlie

|title=Why These Four Banjo-Playing Women Resurrected the Songs of the Enslaved|work=Smithsonian|date=April 10, 2019

|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-these-four-banjo-playing-women-resurrected-songs-enslaved-180971926/#9JcCf2jL1JzCIzK4.99

|access-date=May 2, 2019}} The result is a collection of songs that address issues ranging from slavery and colonialism to racism and sexism.{{cite web|last=Willis|first=Samantha

|title=Songs of Our Native Daughters Gives Ancestors Voice|work=Down Beat|date=March 29, 2019|url=http://downbeat.com/news/detail/songs-of-our-native-daughters-gives-ancestors-voice|access-date=May 2, 2019}}

More than half of the album's songs explore aspects of slavery and its aftermath. Some of these as well as others deal with the specific experiences of black women. Meanwhile, Giddens' initial concept of celebrating black minstrel music was not abandoned. Two of her four contributions focus on the historical role of the banjo as the first "truly American" instrument. As she points out in the liner notes, the instrument was first used exclusively by black musicians, but in the latter part of the 1800s, it became identified with white males who performed minstrel music in blackface, at the time a highly popular form of entertainment.

{{Album reviews

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{Cite web|url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/songs-of-our-native-daughters-mw0003241276|author=James Christopher Monger|title=Songs of Our Native Daughters – Our Native Daughters : Songs, Reviews, Credits : AllMusic|work=AllMusic|access-date=January 9, 2022}}

| rev2 = The Guardian

| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{Cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/21/our-native-daughters-songs-of-our-native-daughters-review-devastating-beauty-from-banjo-supergroup|author=Laura Barton|date=February 21, 2019|title=Our Native Daughters: Songs of Our Native Daughters review – devastating beauty from banjo supergroup|work=The Guardian|access-date=January 9, 2022}}

| rev3 = Paste

| rev3score = 9.1/10{{Cite web|url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/our-native-daughters/no-album-left-behind-our-native-daughters-songs-of/|author=Annie Galvin|date=December 9, 2019|title=No Album Left Behind: Our Native Daughters' Songs of Our Native Daughters|work=Paste|access-date=January 9, 2022}}

}}

Upon its release, Songs of Our Native Daughters was welcomed with universal applause.

Laura Barton for The Guardian called it a "proud, devastating [and] authoritative" work.

The members of Our Native Daughters were brought together by Giddens, who selected the group's name in reference to James Baldwin's 1955 book Notes of a Native Son. Following are profiles of the group's members:

Rhiannon Giddens, a vocalist and banjo player, is a founding member of the Grammy Award-winning group Carolina Chocolate Drops. She was nominated for a Grammy in 2017 for her second solo studio album Freedom Highway, which was produced by Powell.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/freedom-highway-mw0003008277|title=Rhiannon Giddens: Freedom Highway|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|website=AllMusic|access-date=May 2, 2019}} Among other honors, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship "genius grant" in 2017 for her contributions to folk and country music as an African American.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/21/our-native-daughters-songs-of-our-native-daughters-review-devastating-beauty-from-banjo-supergroup|title=Our Native Daughters: Songs of Our Native Daughters review – devastating beauty from banjo supergroup|last=Barton|first=Laura|date=February 21, 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=April 24, 2019}}

Amythyst Kiah{{cite web|url=https://amythystkiah.com/about|title=About Amythyst|year=2019|website=amythystkiah.com|publisher=Artist's Official Website|access-date=May 6, 2019}} is a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee and currently lives in Johnson City.{{cite web|url=https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/music/amythyst-kiah-finds-a-future-by-digging-into-americas-musical-past|title=Amythyst Kiah Finds a Future by Digging into America's Musical Past|last=Volmers|first=Eric|date=February 15, 2018|work=Calgary Herald|access-date=May 6, 2019}} Kiah is a graduate of East Tennessee State University, where she completed the Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies program. She plays guitar and banjo.{{cite web|url=https://thebluegrasssituation.com/read/a-right-to-be-here-amythyst-kiahs-innovative-place-in-tradition/|title=A Right To Be Here: Amythyst Kiah’s Innovative Place in Tradition|last=Gleaves|first=Sam|date=March 25, 2016|website=thebluegrasssituation.com|publisher=The Bluegrass Situation|access-date=May 6, 2019}}

Leyla McCalla, who is of Haitian descent, was born in New York City.{{cite web|url=https://leylamccalla.com/biography/|title=Leyla McCalla: Biography|year=2019|website=leylamccalla.com|publisher=Artist's Official Website|access-date=May 6, 2019}} After studying classical music briefly at New York University, she relocated to New Orleans, where she was recruited to join the Carolina Chocolate Drops while performing as a street musician.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/the-out-door/9323-genres-of-one/?page=4|title=The Out Door: Leyla McCalla, Classically Trained Creolo|last=Masters|first=Marc|last2=Currin|first2=Grayson Haver|date=February 7, 2014|website=Pitchfork|publisher=The Pitchfork Review|access-date=May 7, 2019}} She has since recorded three solo albums.{{cite web|url=http://www.offbeat.com/articles/leyla-mccalla/|title=Leyla McCalla Talks Back|last=Wirt|first=John|date=February 27, 2019|website=offbeat.com|publisher=OffBeat|access-date=May 6, 2019}} Her most recent release, Capitalist Blues, reached number 14 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart in early 2019.{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/leyla-mccalla|title=Leyla McCalla: Chart History|date=February 9, 2019|work=Billboard|access-date=May 7, 2019}} McCalla's primary instrument is the cello, though she also plays banjo and guitar.

Allison Russell was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee.{{cite web|url=https://www.toledo.com/news/2012/05/09/listen-up-toledo/caught-mid-flight-an-interview-with-birds-of-chicago-s-allison-russell/|title=Caught Mid-Flight: An Interview with Birds of Chicago's Allison Russell|last=Listen Up Toledo|date=May 9, 2012|website=toledo.com|publisher=Toledo.com|access-date=May 6, 2019}} A multi-instrumentalist, she is a founding member of two roots groups. In 2003, Russell joined with Trish Klein of Be Good Tanyas to form Po' Girl in Canada, which recorded six albums, the last in 2010. Two years later, she joined with her now-husband JT Nero to form the group Birds of Chicago in the U.S., releasing four albums and an EP (as of 2018).{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-birds-of-chicago-jt-nero-allison-russell-20141023-story.html|title=Birds of Chicago a Family Thing, On and Off Stage|last=Dickinson|first=Chrissie|date=October 23, 2014|work=The Chicago Tribune|access-date=May 6, 2019}} Russell plays guitar, banjo, ukulele, and clarinet.{{cite web|url=http://www.cityrevealed.com/pages/articles/june14/birds.html|title=Birds of Chicago Take Flight at CSPS|last=Allen-Duenas|first=Lily|date=June 14, 2017|website=cityrevealed.com|publisher=City Revealed Magazine (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)|access-date=May 6, 2019}}

Another Canadian, singer-songwriter Kaia Kater, was also invited to participate in Our Native Daughters but was unable to because of scheduling commitments.

{{Track listing

| collapsed =

| headline =

| extra_column =

| total_length = 52:13

| all_writing =

| all_lyrics =

| all_music =

| title1 = Black Myself

| note1 =

| writer1 = Kiah

| lyrics1 =

| music1 =

| extra1 =

| length1 = 3:54

| title2 = Moon Meets the Sun

| note2 =

| writer2 = Giddens/Kiah/Russell

| lyrics2 =

| music2 =

| extra2 =

| length2 = 4:07

| title3 = Barbados

| note3 =

| writer3 = Giddens (from poems by William Cowper, Dirk Powell)

| lyrics3 =

| music3 =

| extra3 =

| length3 = 5:52

| title4 = Quasheba, Quasheba

| note4 =

| writer4 = Russell

| lyrics4 =

| music4 =

| extra4 =

| length4 = 4:42

| title5 = I Knew I Could Fly

| note5 =

| writer5 = McCalla/Russell

| lyrics5 =

| music5 =

| extra5 =

| length5 = 3:41

| title6 = Polly Ann's Hammer

| note6 =

| writer6 = Kiah/Russell

| lyrics6 =

| music6 =

| extra6 =

| length6 = 2:59

| title7 = Mama's Cryin' Long

| note7 =

| writer7 = Giddens

| lyrics7 =

| music7 =

| extra7 =

| length7 = 2:11

| title8 = Slave Driver

| note8 =

| writer8 = Bob Marley

| lyrics8 =

| music8 =

| extra8 =

| length8 = 4:41

| title9 = Better Git Yer Learnin'

| note9 =

| writer9 = Tom Briggs/Giddens

| lyrics9 =

| music9 =

| extra9 =

| length9 = 3:56

| title10 = Lavi Difisil

| note10 =

| writer10 = McCalla/Russell

| lyrics10 =

| music10 =

| extra10 =

| length10 = 2:30

| title11 = Blood and Bones

| note11 =

| writer11 = Kiah/Russell

| lyrics11 =

| music11 =

| extra11 =

| length11 = 4:45

| title12 = Music and Joy

| note12 =

| writer12 = Giddens/Powell

| lyrics12 =

| music12 =

| extra12 =

| length12 = 2:30

| title13 = You're Not Alone

| note13 =

| writer13 = Russell

| lyrics13 =

| music13 =

| extra13 =

| length13 = 5:36

}}

Our Native Daughters

• Rhiannon Giddens: vocals, banjos (5-string and minstrel), fiddle, percussion
• Amythyst Kiah: vocals, 5-string banjo, percussion
• Leyla McCalla: vocals, cello, tenor banjo, guitar
• Allison Russell: vocals, 5-string banjo, clarinet, ukulele

Additional musicians

• Jamie Dick: drums, percussion
• Dirk Powell: guitars (acoustic, electric, and electric baritone), mandolin, banjo, fiddle, accordion
• Jason Sypher: bass

{{Reflist}}

{{Rhiannon Giddens}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2019 albums

Category:Smithsonian Folkways albums