| | AYO
Artists Genre: Urban
"I've sometimes felt too small, too under-equipped to
help anyone but I've since realized that one drop of
water can cause many ripples. I want God to use me to
inspire, to heal, even if its only one person at a
time." - Ayo (2005)
Ayo is one singer and songwriter that the world cannot
afford to ignore. Her special blend of music is
something she says cannot be boxed up. For the past
five years, her life-walk has been what she has
described as electrifying, and even when she was at
the lowest points of her life, she found herself
writing, even at times when the world around her was
crumbling.
Her Debut album FROM THE DUST chronicles the battles
and victories that she and other people around her
have witnessed and experienced in their walk through
life. She wraps these experiences and testimonies in
a voice and lyrics that says, even when all is lost,
anyone can come up 'from the dust.'
"All of the songs on this album are a God-write
because there have been times when I haven't even felt
like picking up a pen, much less writing. Somehow,
someway a fire starts to burn inside of me at the
oddest hours and before I know it, I have a song."
Ayo is Nigerian-American and so is her music. All her
life she was surrounded by music from every cultur:
from Afro-pean hip hop, African Jazz, Rhythm and
Blues, Soul, Hip-Hop to rock. This variety makes for
a pleasantly complex but harmonious blend of lyrics
and melodies in her songs.
Every song on the album has a message that Ayo feels
will help someone somewhere, get to a point in their
lives when they can say God meant for me to be here.
'What Your Diamonds Mean?' is a song that brazenly
compares precious stones to the gritty realities of
life and the human essence. This track mixes hip-hop
and African rhythms seamlessly. It is not short on
life lessons in true Ayo fashion.
On 'You Are Too Much', she finds a way to tell how God
has walked her through the darkest areas of her life.
It is an exhilarating praise journey.
Chains and Bullets is her anthem for the hurt and
down-trodden. She wakes up the spirit in any person
that has seen pain and devastation and leaves you with
a sense of hope and continuity. This track is infused
with R & B and Rock. "This song is my tribute to the
many that have fallen by the way side as the world
rushes by."
Most of the songs on the album are also co-produced by
this brazen artist who is ready to give 'birth'.
She sings about love, passion, relationships, and in
the heart-warming song, 'Beautiful,' she sings about a
man that takes her breath away but yet seems
unreachable.
In every word and note in From The Dust, it is clear
that this is a no-nonsense artist that will stop at
nothing to tell the world how real her encounter and
experience with God is.
"The sky is not the limit for me...my limit is as far
as God will let me go."
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