Biography
India Arie Simpson was born October 3, 1975, in Denver, Colorado. Her parents, Joyce (a former
Motown singer) and Ralph (former NBA & ABA player) are from Memphis and Detroit, and helped
influence India's musicality at a young age. She has one big brother, J'On. Her mother moved
the family to Atlanta, Georgia, after she divorced India's father when India was thirteen. There,
India attented the Savannah College of Art and Design and fell in love with singing, songwriting,
and playing the guitar. An independent label, Groovement EarthShare, released a compilation CD
including some of India's first songs, and soon after that, India.Arie was discovered at a second-
stage slot in the 1998 Little Fair tour. After being assured she was to have complete artistic
control, India signed with Motown Records, and her musical career began.
Work on her first album, Acoustic Soul took nearly two years. India wanted only the
best for her musical debut, and finally, on March 21, 2001, her hard work paid off. Acoustic Soul
remained in the number 10 slot on Billboard's Hot 100 and number 3 on top Hip-Hop/R&B Albums, and
within months, was declared double platinum. Fans all around the globe were shocked to see she had
not won any of the seven Grammys she was nominated for in 2002, but India promised a strong
comeback by closing the musical gathering with her extremely popular "Video", with no musical or
vocal accompaniment other than herself and her guitar.
Voyage to India was released in September 2002 and was an instant success. Peaking
at number 6 on Billboard's Hot 100 and number 1 on Hip-Hop/R&B, India's second musical statement
was quickly certified platinum. She took home two Grammys that year, one for "Best R&B Album" and
one for "Best Urban/Alternative Platinum" for the song "Little Things". The highly successful song
"Get it Together" was featured on many big-screen soundtracks, including Shark Tale.
India's third record, entitled Testimony Vol. 1: Life & Relationship was literally
an overnight hit. Music-hungry fans waited four years for the lyrical legend to release her next
song collection and wasted no time in making it number one on the Billboard's Hot 100 and
the hip-hop and R&B charts. Motown didn't know what hit them; India is currently the only
artist since Diana Ross' 1972 Lady Sings the Blues to produce a number one album. Its first
sales week recorded 161,000 copies sold worldwide, India's best week ever and the record was
rapidly declared gold, proving that good things come to those who wait.
The songstress is expected to release Testimony: Vol. 2: Love & Politics in late
2007 or early 2008, so keep your eyes peeled!
Bio written by Ariana.
Info taken from Wikipedia and Starpulse.