Berklee College of Music student Niya Norwood and alumni Nikko Lelasi wrote and arranged a breathtaking original song Black Girl Magic that has hit over 45k views on the official Berklee YouTube channel. Listeners are taken through a garden of warm strings and vocals with lead Niya opening the song. The message encourages black women to own their magic and love the skin they live in. With an increase of recorded shootings of black bodies, hyper-sexualization of women, and appropriation of afro-diaspora culture, it’s the type of song the music industry and world is all too in need of.
HipStory’s Tim Hall is featured in the horn section on alto saxophone with Noah Conrad and Neal Rosenthal on trumpet, and Ryan Linvill on tenor saxophone. The band supports the singers as their voices gracefully waterfall through the song with ease. The string section offers a cloud of vibrant sound for listeners to get lost in. Niya and Nikko put an impeccable group of musicians together to truly spread the needed message of Black Girl Magic. Make sure to listen, like, and share the video!
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1airw30mdg
Find more of Niya’s music here: http://nnorwood.wixsite.com/artist
Find more of Nikko’s music here: http://nikkoielasi.com/
Make sure to follow Tim Hall on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Soundcloud