Written by | Ray Cornelius
There are singers and then there are “sangers.” You know who I’m talking about. The entertainers whose voices make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up or give you goosebumps every time their on the mic. The one’s that have you yelling out, “Ooh, that’s my shit!” in the middle of the song. It’s the kind of singing that causes you to throw your head back and raise your hands in the air even though you’re not at anybody’s church service. Well, that’s exactly what happened to me last night when I went to see soul music sanger Donnie perform his critically acclaimed album, The Colored Section.
Who knew the lyrics from ‘Wildlife‘ would still be a haunting reality of today with all of the recent police shootings of African-American men? “And you call me a savage, uncivilized when it’s you who made lynching your way of life And you dont want me to be mad Well I’ll say too bad I’m a product of my environment So who the hell we call wildlife Look at us They only kill when they have to We kill for sport.”
Last night’s performance was also a very personal one for the singer, who admitted to the audience that he suffered from years of self hate and almost “snorted and smoked himself to death.” He also testified about coming to grips with his sexuality and how he forgave the pastor of his childhood church for years of bullying him from the pulpit. (Click here to listen)
Check out more amazing photos from last night’s show below. The evening also featured up-in-coming R&B/Pop singer JK Howells and Janelle Monae‘s new group—All Cows Eat Grass. The show was also presented by my friends The MuddyWater Group.
JK HOWELLS
ALL COWS EAT GRASS
DONNIE
Photo Credits: RayCornelius.com