It’s a damp, cold Wednesday evening in Philadelphia. The snow from the previous week’s blizzard is melting, and on a side street in the Callowhill neighborhood, something new is heating up.
On Wood St., off of 11th, is a pair of red cellar doors that are rarely noticed during the daytime, but when the doors open in the evening, the inside is painted with the eye of providence, the symbol atop the pyramid on the one-dollar bill.
Duck your head as you proceed down the stairs into what, in other buildings, would be a storage room for the businesses or tenants and you’ll enter Velvet Whip Arts & Social Club – a speakeasy lounge that feels plucked from the Jazz Age a century ago.
The She Rise album release show at Velvet Whip is sold out. The crowd is a mix of all walks of life, but one thing is abundantly clear: everyone brought their sartorial A-game. Attendees quiet down as Rae Dianz, our emcee, takes the stage. She informs the audience of what they can expect this evening: food, music, new friendships and a celebration of She Rise’s first album in six years, Sweet Until It Wasn’t.
The event opens with a Q&A in which Rae Dianz asks She Rise about her album. She Rise speaks to the emotions that fueled her music on the project, her heartbreak, her journey to move past old wounds and the wisdom of her mother. She Rise’s mom gets an extended ovation, she’s in attendance, and even brought aluminum pans of food to serve everyone traditional Jamaican dishes.
The Q&A ends, and the first artist takes the stage. Geedah B. steps on stage with her violin and plays virtuosic solos over two pop songs. Then, senojfromtheroc takes over with his acoustic guitar and sampler, getting the crowd involved with some group singing, while displaying his incredible talents of whistle-singing and trumpet soloing with just his mouth. When senojfromtheroc exits the stage, Taryn Sunchild steps up to play unaccompanied flute, covering recent R&B hits.
Finally, it’s time for She Rise to perform her new album.
The band takes the stage, clad in black. She Rise sits on the stage floor next to a white stone singing bowl and runs a stick slowly along the inside rim. The bowl’s sonic frequency builds as she applies more pressure, and then she sings, “I am ready for love.” Her voice cuts through the venue’s atmosphere with precision, like a scalpel, sending shivers down attendees’ spines.
She Rise steps onto the stage and the band begins her song ‘Karma’. Her vocal performance is reminiscent of artists like Lauryn Hill, Snoh Aalegra, Jill Scott, and SZA, among others, while delivering something that feels very Erykah Badu. A second vocalist joins She Rise for the rest of the performance, matching her with precise harmony on every vocal run, even the most technical ones.
The crowd is deeply invested in She Rise, among them are those who have worked with her in her professional life, longtime friends, those who have collaborated with her in her music and those who also hail from her hometown of Rochester, NY. Early in her set, she brings up an artist from one of the two features on the album, 1AK, to perform their song ‘Call em up’, a relaxed keyboard and trap drum union with an infectious hook.
Between songs, she takes time to share her appreciation for the crowd, her collaborators, her mom (which garners another extended ovation), Velvet Whip, and to share personal anecdotes about her life. She tells us that the venue’s couches and upholstered seating remind her of the living room in her childhood home and of her memories of singing for hours into the TV remote, performing to an imagined audience. It’s a poignant moment as we all witness a young woman who has manifested the beginning of her dream.
She Rise brings up a friend to do choreography for her advance single off of the album, ‘Soft Life,’ an idyllic pop song that feels stripped out of the 60s, complete with the glassy guitar tone. Someone shouts, “Ooh, she singing it!” as She Rise powers through her song, ‘Single.’ Then, it’s time for the second and final musical guest. ‘Lovers to friends’ opens with a verse by rapper J. Seuss.
The performance closes with the final song on her album, “Ready for love” and it feels like a victory lap for She Rise. The crowd screams and cheers as the song gathers to a crescendo. The band plays as She Rise leaves the stage and thanks everyone one last time. The night ends with She Rise’s mom passing out plates and cupcakes for people to take home.
For more on She Rise and to hear her new album, Sweet Until It Wasn’t, check her out on Instagram @sherisemusic and on Spotify.