“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou
Poise and poetic, the words of Maya Angelou spoke to many generations and sparked ideals about life that ignited freedom and gave focus to society and our images within it.
Published in 1969, Angelou’s autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, documented her early years, inner struggles and the incidents that led to her long-time silence and eventual soul-brewing poetry.
It was within this work that her poetry and story connected many mothers, daughters and granddaughters. She firmly believed that “words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.”
With the influence poetry has on hip-hop, the two will fuse again with the verbal musings of Dr. Angelou’s words and hip-hop beats produced by Shawn Rivera of R&B group Az Yet and RoccStar, who co-penned Chris Brown’s single, “Fine China.”
As reported by The Grio, the album Caged Bird Songs will feature 13 tracks released through Smooch Music in early November.
Rivera and RoccStar hope that by adding a hip-hop twist, a broader audience will be engaged and touched by the words of Dr. Maya Angelou.
Caged Birds Songs was recorded with Dr. Angelou’s blessing and is said to be one of the many projects the icon had in works before passing earlier this year.
YOUR TURN: Will you check out Caged Bird Songs? Let us know in the comments!
