I have had the pleasure of meeting and greeting many of my favorite soul artists over the years, but by far one of my favorites is definitely Ms. Purple St. James a.k.a Yahzarah! That’s because she has a wonderful soul and a genuine personality. She loves her fans as much as she loves her music, and it definitely shows. I have exchanged some verbage with Yahzarah about 5 times in person over the years at different events, but there was one particular time that stands out amongst the rest. It was back in 2006 when I was working with my dudes from the Flowink.com movement while they were here in Detroit promoting a concert of great music showcasing Darien Brockington, Dwele and Yahzarah. During this event I was helping out my folks where I could to keep the show moving along smoothly. As I entered the club’s VIP area to retrieve a battery pack for the video camera recording the event, I noticed Yahzarah staring at herself in a mirror hanging on the back wall of the room. No one was in the room but her and the lights were very dim. At first I didn’t even know it was her, but when I realized it I tried to be respectful to her personal time before her set, so I just grabbed the battery pack and kept it moving. As I was exiting the VIP area, she turned around and spoke to me. I responded to her greeting from afar, and then I mentioned that I was big fan of her music and that I was hyped about seeing her performance. That’s when our somewhat simple conversation got deep real fast!
My kind words seemed to spark something in Yahzarah. Before I realized it she was standing directly in front of me and suddenly took both of my hands into hers. Her grip was firm and deliberate. While looking deeply into my eyes, she stated that those words I had said meant the world to her. She went on to say that she definitely needed to hear that. She admitted while she was looking into that mirror on the back wall, a lot of negative thoughts were going through her mind. She was nervous about what we (the audience) were going to think about her performance, so she was second-guessing herself. The most powerful statement she made to me was when she said that I was an angel sent from God to pass this message of encouragement to her on that night. While standing at that mirror she asked God to send her a message, and then I came walking into the room. At this point she had tears in her eyes, so I was taken back for real. She then released my hands and proceeded to give me the warmest hug that I had felt from a stranger in a minute. After that heartfelt hug, I departed the room feeling bewildered while replaying her words over and over again in my mind. From that time on I have continued to look at Purple St. James as more that just a great singer, but a spiritual and connected person. Real folk, which is definitely my kind of folk!When I was talking to her last December at the Soul Track Music Awards, she told me that she had some new music dropping in 2008! She has a new track called “Orbit” that is making some noise on the soul music scene, which is the first single off of her “Purple St. James” album that should be dropping later this year. If you are unfamiliar with Yahzarah at this point, I suggest you start with her first official release entitled “Blackstar” to step your soul music game up a little. Her music is great, but seeing her perform live is where it’s at, so check out this video footage I have provided you below. You can thank me later...
Yahzarah (Purple St. James) - Live
www.myspace.com/yahzarah
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