NAIA KETE
MUSIC | Western Massachusetts, 2020 - 2021
CULTURE HUB
IMA is a teaching, performing and recording institute with a nonprofit mission to support women and girls in music and music related business. Rooted in the legacy of progressive equal rights movements, IMA’s development is guided by the visions, needs, and concerns of women from a diversity of backgrounds.
ARTIST
Naia Kete is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and social justice advocate with a powerful voice to match her dedication to positive change-making. Born and raised in Western Massachusetts to a family of musicians, she is now leader of the urban-reggae band SayReal, which aims to empower people to change the world by changing themselves.
SOCIAL IMPACT INITIATIVE
The Alianza Project is a youth-led non-profit organization that supports communities in healing themselves from the effects of trauma through therapeutic, artistic, spiritual, and pro-social experiences. The project offers educational opportunities and materials highlighting the voices of the disenfranchised.
For each month of the pilot, Naia will interview a different youth educator from The Alianza Project in the process of their own healing and write a song inspired by their individual stories. As trauma has multiple side effects, including but not limited to anger, resentment, anxiety and loss of hope, it keeps the body in a state of fight or flight; each song will be written to activate the body's parasympathetic nervous system, preparing the body and mind for the healing they deserve. In addition to this 6-song EP, Naia will create a series of mini-documentaries to share the process of research, interviews, writing, and recording the songs at IMA each month, as well as a digital songbook filled with lyrics, images, and quotes from the youth to accompany the project.