Nina Cried Power

"How can you be an artist and not reflect the times?"

Nina Simone is one of the greatest singers of all time. In the documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?, Simone's daughter talks about how her mother was Nina Simone 24/7 and that became a problem. It is well known that Nina Simone had a prolific career but after the song Mississippi Goddam, her sales went significantly down. The Civil Rights's Movement and Simone's participation in it considerably damaged her career as well as was a reason of rift between her and her husband. However, her work and activism inspired many artists. Some one inspired by her style while others by what her songs called attention to. 

I had only heard Nina Simone's song, Feeling Good, before the session. That too, I cam across in a commercial selling furniture. The tune was catchy. But after this session and watching her documentary, I realized that Hozier's song "Nina Cried Power" was on Nina Simone. A bit more digging, and turns out Simone influenced Hozier's singing considerably. Hozier is well known for social messages in his work -his song Cherry Wine is about domestic violence. His famous song, Take Me To Church, sheds light on homophobia and the persecution of the LGBTQ+ community. 

It kind of made me think of Gadamer's fusion of horizons. Gadamer's famous model of how understanding happens opens for us the possibility of putting a musical giant like Nina Simone in conversation with the pasty king of angst, Hozier. According to Gadamer, when one comes into conversation with other, there is no unequal relation that happens, but both bring their "horizons" and create a new fusion. Simone was a jazz and blues singer, and Hozier is a folk and soul music singer. The way he reflects Simone is less through the style of his singing, and more in the lyrics he writes and the message he promotes through his music videos. I think that is important to mention, as the Simone-Hozier is not a musical fusion, but is a fusion of thought. Hozier, inspired by Simone does not necessarily reflect this inspiration through his musical style. But it is reflected through what he tries to bring attention towards. 

Gadamer's idea of parts and whole can also be used to understand the Simone-Hozier fusion. Learning about Nina Simone's activism and participation in the Civil Rights' Movement  enhanced my understanding of the activism done by Hozier and by finding out that Hozier was influenced by Simone in turn also elaborated Simone's profile as a revolutionary singer. I know it sounds outrageous to think that one understands Simone better through Hozier but I think indicates to how Nina Simone's free spirit is present in the most unlikely of the artists. It also strikes true to Simone's claim that an artist must reflect "the times". Hozier being inspired by Nina Simone and speaking up against the atrocities of our times is exactly what Simone would say an artist must do. It puts the two on the same table, offering in a way, the same food to others. 

Hozier's "Nina Cried Power" was an ode to activists, thanking them for their efforts. I think a more fitting song to make his case would be "Cherry Wine". The song is about a man getting abused by his partner, a girl. The video is the opposite, where the girl is being physically abused by her boyfriend. I think the song and the video combined send a powerful message -how domestic violence is rampant and can happen both ways. To show the woman getting abused in the video is also a deliberate choice to indicate how women are more likely to experience abuse. Hozier is also involved in charities that deal with domestic violence victims. 

Hozier and Nina Simone are miles apart, both literally and figuratively. But I think Hozier encapsulates Simone's far reaching influence really well. Nina cried power.