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Word On The Street: Lalah Hathaway

What'z Up Wit Cha? - Lalah Hathaway
At a time when most female singers base the quality of their voices on how loudly they can scream, Ms. Lalah Hathaway knocks out opponents with her Lush vocal style. This Sista is no stranger to music. Having been exposed to this art at an early age, she not only had the influence of her famous father, Donnie Hathaway, she was able to meet and work along side of other established artists.

Lalah dropped her third solo project titled Outrun the Sky, last month and it was definitely worth the 10 year wait. She clarified for me that there was no grass growing under her feet during that timeframe. "I was working on projects with other people." She explained. "Gerald Albright, Marcus Miller, Joe Sample & Me'Shell NdegéOcello just to name a few." In fact, Lalah has worked in some capacity every year since her 1994 Sophomore project.

My introduction to her came around 1990. I was working in a small office that allowed us to play music. My station of choice was KBLX out of the Bay Area and one day this song came on with a lady saying "Ooh, it's somethin'. You and I, have somethin'. How I long to be around when (when you can see that), you and I have somethin', in common." I was like "Who is that?" I really loved the song so I ran out and purchased the cassette (telling my age cause CD's hadn't been invented yet…well, not in my budget) and I played it to death from that point on.

Outrun the Sky meets and exceeds that same thrill I got in 1990. It's a feel good project that takes the listener on a journey. Aside from the title track (which is my favorite), Lalah treats us to a remake of Luther's Forever, for Always, for Love and she kills it big time. "What made you chose that song?" I asked. "I was invited to be part of the tribute album for Luther Vandross earlier this year along with a host of other incredible people. I sang that song and just decided to add it to my project as well." An All-Star tribute concert followed up last month with Patti LaBelle, Will Downing, Dave Koz, Kirk Whalum, Ledesi, Maysa, Gerald Albright, Richard Elliot, Lalah Hathaway, Brian Culbertson, Mindi Abair, & Paul Jackson Jr. as performers. The concert was held at Madison Square Garden.

Although my focus was primarily on the present, I couldn't help but to ask Lalah if she ever considered doing a Natalie Cole / Nat King Cole type ballad with her father. "You are about the 1 millionth person to ask me that" she answered. "Natalie put it down when she did that and although I've given it some thought, I'm not sure that I would do that exactly. I definitely plan to do something to memorialize my father and honor the contributions that he's made. I just haven't decided what that will entail."

Lalah is a very pleasant, down to earth Sista. At the beginning of our conversation, I informed her that another celebrity friend of mine (whom I informed that I'd be interviewing Lalah) wanted me to pass on the message that she loved her. When I told Lalah who it was, she began to sing that singers song and said that she loved her as well. For me, this was Sisterly love at its finest. I witnessed two females of different genres who admire each other's work and are not above admitting it. That spoke in volumes to me and showed me that Lalah is an artist not only secure with her talent and style but also with her love for all types of music as well as those who contribute to it.

Pick up Lalah's Outrun the Sky or get more info at lalahhathaway.

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