![]() ![]() The last few years, however, have found Obsidian called back into songwriting. ![]() Instead, she studied at The William Esper Studio and soon landed several roles in independent films before finding her way to Tough Love, a popular YouTube series, and If Beale Street Could Talk. It was always the lyrics and tune first, before I ever got into a studio space to work with producers or anything like that.”ĭespite such rich musical roots, Obsidian initially intended to become a travel journalist, but the gravitational pull to act was far too strong. I’d be washing the dishes, and I would start thinking of a song or tune or whatever the case may be. When singing and songwriting became a serious passion, Obsidian recorded her own songs down on a collection of cassette tapes, many of which she still has to this day. You breathe from here.’ That, I think, was the beginning of me saying, ‘Huh, there’s actually a proper way to sing.’ And that is what led to voice lessons and really sticking with choir and thinking about it more as a performance and as something that can and should be done right.” But I remember her putting her hand on my stomach and saying, ‘This is how you breathe. In my head, I’m like, ‘Mom, why are you playing Whitney Houston?’ I sound nothing like Whitney Houston I don’t have the vocal capability of Whitney Houston. She sat me down one day and put on Whitney Houston. Her mother would also sit her down in front of their giant box stereo and “see if I would take it seriously. “I almost feel as if I would have come into music much sooner if I hadn’t been as shy.” But outside of that, I was always really shy growing up,” she reflects. “I was that kid who when I was home, and in a safe space with my family, I was very outgoing. Songs by Lenny Kravitz, Shania Twain, Anita Baker, and Whitney Houston soundtracked their travels, in such a way that cemented the importance of lyrics and melody for her. Since New Paltz so near the Catskill Mountain Range, Obsidian and her family spent many days commuting to and from the lush countryside. It doesn’t matter what language is being spoken, when you hear something, it still makes you feel something.” I’m really grateful for that, because music definitely is a universal tool. “They came here during the civil war in their home country, and music was a big part of their culture and how they used it to heal, to bring joy, to express their own feelings and their own experiences. Originally from New Paltz, New York, Obsidian grew up performing in choir, loving Disney movies ( Aladdin and The Little Mermaid were her favorites), and soaking in her grandparent’s East African heritage. “They might not be the exact same setup but they feel like them and just seeing them from a different perspective gives you a chance to see how you really felt about something, when you thought you may have felt an entirely different way.” ![]() Sometimes, the experiences that you have on screen as somebody else are experiences that you yourself have had or they feel like them,” she continues. “The really cool thing about the work that I do with acting is that sometimes it overlaps. Balance is also something that I’m becoming a lot more aware of. So much of my life is very much so the work that I do, and I love that. “A lot of the stuff that I’m writing right now are things that are connected to the roles that I’m playing on a couple different shows. “It still doesn’t feel structured to me because it’s just me leaving time for it if it should come,” she notes. Over the last year, Obsidian turned ever-inward to do much-needed personal work and confront “things I haven’t felt comfortable talking about.” As such, she began setting aside time in the early morning to write. ![]()
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