Tracy Chapman: The Voice That INSPIRED Generations

BY DANY MIRELES (SHE/HER)

As we honour Black History Month, it is essential to recognize and remember the contributions of black LGBTQ artists, whose creativity and talent impacted the music industry. These artists have paved the way for current artists in the industry, and provide a greater understanding to society using their enormous talent as a form of empowerment, liberation and social change.

An influential historic music icon is Tracy Chapman, whose songwriting abilities and astonishing voice has impacted the whole world. Bursting into the scene in the 80s decade, her acoustic songs have had huge success around the world. Born on March 30, 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio, she was raised by her mother who noticed her love for music, and despite not having a lot of money, bought three year old Tracy a ukulele, not thinking that her daughter would later on become an icon for the contemporary folk music industry. As her passion for music kept on growing, so did her dedication to education, pursuing her education in Anthropology at Tufts University, which during her time there, she continued to nurture her musical ability. While studying, she performed in venues near her university, including Harvard Square to showcase her talent live.

“Fast Car” became a success after performing at the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert on June 11 1988, the song began to rise in the US charts and became a number 6 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, however, this last year Luke Combs’ cover of the hit song went viral, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, and Chapman became the only black woman to ever have a solo writing credit become a No.1 country song. This song quickly became a lesbian anthem, because of it’s lyrics about escaping to try and find a better life,  it showed Chapman’s ability to write songs about love and loss, the couple that Chapman writes about are genderless, with this freedom, queer people have identified with this anthem, and with the desire to leave a place that they call home to embrace their true self .

More recently, she performed the song alongside Luke Combs at this year’s Grammys, becoming one of the night’s most talked about performances, as everyone in the audience sang along to the worldwide beloved song. Although never discussing her private life in the limelight, Tracy Chapman has never addressed her sexuality or private life, others have commented on her identity, Alice Walker for example, has stated that her and Tracy Chapman had a romantic relationship in the 90s decade, saying that Chapman was “one of her true loves”.

Her immense talent and songwriting abilities created a cemented place for her and to this very day, she remains as one of the most influential artists of the generation. She has a total of eight written albums, the most recent one being released in 2008, most of her songs are acoustics fusioned with a gentle beat, such as “Mountain O’ Things”. She often embarks on themes such as poverty, alcoholism, and struggles, political issues throughout her music such as social misery, counter racism and women’s issues. "To touch people, you have to tell universal stories while at the same time telling about what surrounds you: a world of illusions, dominated by capitalism and technology". Most of her lyrics show her interest about human rights and highlight the importance of speaking up against injustice.

As a political and social activist, Tracy Chapman has performed at various concerts that support human rights, AIDS and the anti apartheid movement in South Africa. In 1988, Chapman performed in London as part of the "Human Rights Now!". She is an advocate for social rights and has used her platform to raise her voice for LGBTQ+ rights, to support causes that advocate for equality and inclusion. Her speaking out for rights has helped raise awareness of issues, emphasising on how important inclusion is in our current world, regardless of one’s identity and sexuality.

In a 2009 interview with American Radio Network NPR, she said,  ​​"I'm approached by lots of organisations and lots of people who want me to support their various charitable efforts in some way. And I look at those requests and I basically try to do what I can. And I have certain interests of my own, generally an interest in human rights." In the year 2004, she was given an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts in Tufts University, recognizing her commitment to social activism, she also has been a force for education working with Amnesty International and other organizations.

Without a doubt, Chapman is one of the most influential and important artists of our generation, having one of the few songs in history to cross genres and get to different generations without it being reworked on. Her influence can be heard in the voices of many current artists that have been inspired by her work, but also in the hearts of her audience who have found themselves in her music. Tracy Chapman’s legacy consists of incredible musical ability but also in empathy, resilience and authenticity.