Poppy Ajudha adds new spin to Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man."
World renown Jazz Label, Blue Note, is poised to release “Re:imagined,” in September 2020.
It’s a project where some of today’s jazz artists revisit jazz classics.
Featured on the project are - Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia, Mr. Jukes, Steam Down, Skinny Pelembe, Emma-Jean Thackray, Poppy Ajudha, Jordan Rakei, Fieh, Ishmael Ensemble, Blue Lab Beats, Melt Yourself Down, Yazmin Lacey, Alfa Mist, Ezra Collective, and Jorja Smith.
"Watermelon Ma," is one of those classic compositions reimagined by Poppy Ajudha that folks can expect on the upcoming album. To peep this daring rendition, look no further. In her own words, Ms. Ajudha says the following:
“Herbie’s Watermelon Man was my first thought when asked to imagine a track from the Blue Note catalog. It’s an iconic song and one that has been with me throughout my life. I based the lyrics on my research of Watermelon Men in America, aiming to capture what it may have been like to be a black man in America at that time – newly emancipated but still heavily oppressed – and the race relations that had brought him to this point.
I wanted to broaden the concept of the Watermelon Man to the way that black people in the US and UK throughout history have been denied an understanding of where they came from and the truth of a violent history within the western world. It feels ever more relevant today with the BLM movement coming to the forefront of our lives and was an important direction for me to take the song in.” Poppy Ajudha
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Music video by Poppy Ajudha performing Watermelon Man (Under The Sun) (Visualiser). © 2020 Universal Music Operations Limited
