Adina Nyree: Certified Organic

Certified Organic, Adina Nyree

Adina Nyree. Wanna know about her? Here we go. Adina Nyree is my massage therapist. I went up to the other side of the world Mt. Vernon to see her when I needed to get these knots worked out of Daddy’s back. She did the trick. I loved her.

A few weeks later, she’s at Billie’s Black (if you don’t know Billie’s, learn them ASAP) jamming at the front table as Brown Baby Girl took the stage and promptly showed out (as usual). And the next thing I know, I find out the heffa sings. She didn’t sing when she was massaging my back. She didn’t sing when she was driving me to and from the train (isn’t she nice?). I was thrown. But, then I was like… well, people say they can sing all the time. Can she blow or is she just blowing smoke? [side note: don't you like how I think in italics? weird, but true.]

She can sing. And, apparently, she’s a poet. She’s a poet who sings her poems. In that, you get a slight Jill Scott vibe, but Nyree clearly has her own distinctive voice and sound. Her debut project, Certified Organic, is a disc that requires repeat listens. Each time, I catch something new. She switches between song and rhyme with the ease of a race car driver switching lanes. Her sound is, really, unlike anyone else out right now. She needs national distribution.

In the meantime, we settle for her monthly show at Billie’s Black (2nd Tuesday Spoken Soul) and repeated spins of Certified Organic. If this is your first time hearing of Adina, check out the video below. It’s a show she did last summer with saxophonist Mike Phillips.

If you like what you hear, check out her website, or you can find her on iTunes.

On a personal note, last night at her show, Adina gave me the warmest, most inclusive shout out I have ever gotten. Now, I have a hundred and seven friends who are singers and a lot of them call me out when they’re on the mic, but Adina went in, telling them about my tshirts, my soon-to-open store, my graphic design business, my writing skills, my blog, everything. It was very gracious and, Adina, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Now, go buy the damn album before I have to tell you again.