Jarrett Hill on India.Arie's "Testimony Vol. 1, Life & Relationship" (2006)

When Testimony Vol. 1 dropped in 2006, India.Arie was still riding the success of her previous album, Voyage to India, which helped bring neo-soul and acoustic R&B to the forefront. She stood out from her contemporaries with deeply confessional and introspective songwriting. India's lyricism was somewhat polarizing when Testimony Vol. 1 was first released, but something about it hit different, especially for those of us in complicated relationships. Journalist Jarrett Hill (who cohosts FANTI here on Maximum Fun) joins us to talk about India's place in the neo-soul movement, what India's work meant to a college-aged Jarrett Hill, and what critics failed to understand when this album was first released. More on JarrettFANTI on MaxFunA selection of Jarrett's writingTwitter | InstagramMore on India.ArieI Am Not My Hair videoIndia on NPRIndia and Oprah go Soul to SoulSong Tracklisting (all songs from Testimony Vol. 1, Life & Relationship unless otherwise indicated):Private PartyHeart of the MatterIndia.Arie: VideoWings of Forgiveness*NSYNC: SelfishI ChooseBetter PeopleIndia'SongI ChooseI Am Not My HairCeCe Winans: Let Them Fall In LoveIndia'SongNas: Bye BabyTweet: ComplainIndia.Arie & Joe Sample: God Rest Ye Merry GentlemenAnita Baker: Been So LongHere is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find thereIf you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!