It's rare that an independent artist gets invited to perform two years in a row at one of the biggest music festivals in the country, but SHAHIDAH OMAR is that rare kind of artist. The uniquely soulful singer-songwriter defies conventional categorization with indelible impact, prompting hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons to proclaim SHAHIDAH OMAR "an innovative and transformative artist with a bright future."
That's just part of the reason she will be returning to the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in 2012 to kick off the world tour supporting her message-driven debut album, FREEDOM, "a major celebratory confession" (AfroPunk.com) and an indelible showcase of her rock edge, classically trained operatic vocals, and inner ferocity. More summer dates will be announced soon in Los Angeles, New York and her native Chicago.
SHAHIDAH OMAR wrote, arranged, recorded, engineered and produced all of the lyrics for FREEDOM in Los Angeles at her own Hot Pink Studios. She uses her voice like a symphony of instruments with a determined delivery, piercing stance and a fierce determination to blow minds while conducting herself in her own orchestra. FREEDOM songs like "What About the Living," "Stop the War" and her concert anthem, "People of the World," exemplify the truisms that bleed through the soul of this anti-Diva who exemplifies "freedom" as an artist who moves freely between rock, soul, alternative and electronica.
"Freedom to me is being whoever it is I want to be," says SHAHIDAH OMAR. "That works for everything I do. I choose to be me. That's my freedom. And that's what all my songs are about – just being able to do or be who I want to be. Everybody should be able to have that freedom ... a freedom for purposeful meaning in life."
SHAHIDAH OMAR made her network TV debut performing live on NBC's The Bonnie Hunt Show and followed with live performances all over the world. Her singing voice, now being heard as well as an Avatar for the new music video game ZYA, also has been featured on BET's Girlfriends, the BET Image Award-nominated film Walking on Sunshine and Blockbuster's Living the Dream. She has opened for Anthony Hamilton and Kem, among others, and brings an extensive background in modeling, dance and acting to her solo career, with several credits in theatrical stage and film. But SHAHIDAH OMAR's passion is unmistakably her music, a passion that can be felt from the front of the stage to the back of the room.
"Omar set the stage on fire with powerful and politically charged lyrics, a voice that lifted spirits throughout the venue, and a band that seamlessly fused rock, soul, dance and electronic elements," said Hollywood Today of her recent show at Hollywood's Whisky a Go-Go. "Shahidah Omar is poised to take flight as a top-notch female act. ... She blatantly exudes the 'It' factor."
Shahidah Omar online:
www.shahidahomar.com
www.facebook.com/shahidahomar
www.youtube.com/shahidahomar
www.twitter.com/shahidahomar
