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Wayna Interview

Wayna By Nokware Knight Woyneab Wondwossen, better known as Wayna, could have been a lot of things. A passion for all things people, culture, and agenda would have served her well in advocacy, business, and politics. Her ability to weave worldly concerns into a single story and common cause could have led her to success in public speaking, education, and the arts. But after three years as a writer in the White House, Wayna chose to become a singer, a single profession that allowed her to tap into all her interests and talents. So far she has used music as a platform to address women's rights, her Ethopian heritage, the tried and tested themes of love and relationships, society at large, and individual expression. While the positive feedback from and impact of her music has only increased with each album release, Wayna feels she has a lot more to say and a long way to go. Nu-Soul: How have initial reactions to your new album, Higher Ground, differed from those of your previous album, Moments of Clarity? Wayna: People have been very generous in their feedback on both projects, but with Higher Ground I've been told that people recognize a lot of growth in the writing and production. I just really wanted to dig deeper and get better, and so far people have felt that on the new project. What I'm most proud about though is that both albums are appreciated for being projects people can listen to from beginning to end. That's usually a pleasant surprise for most music buyers, and I wanted to make sure buyers of my product got their money's worth and then some. Nu-Soul: Your album covers common themes like love and social injustice, but It's not that often that R&B singers talk about office politics. Why was career and life in the office important enough to dedicate an entire song to? Wayna: It was a subject that really occupied my mind at one point. I was really surprised as a young adult to see how much politics or who a person was "aligned with" influenced people's perceptions. When I was working at the White House, I had a colleague who wasn't very competent, but because he had ties with a very high profile person there, he felt free to bully people. And even some of the smartest, most capable staffers felt like they had to tip toe around him. I couldn't play along. In fact, I think I may have challenged him more than necessary because I was so irritated by the whole thing. My take is that it’s great to build REAL relationships with people you can learn from and who can open up opportunities for you. But at the end of the day, I want to be judged by what I bring to the table. Otherwise, it’s just like high school with paychecks. For some, that is an unavoidable part of adulthood, and maybe they're right. But for me, it was just so silly, so I vented about it in a song. Nu-Soul: If you were to do a song whose theme was to represent the next four years of presidency, what would be the title? Wayna: America Redefined. I know that when I was growing up, my face and culture and experiences weren't integrated into the picture of what it meant to be American. We were immigrants, we were black, we used tea bags two and three times. Nobody in Ronald Reagan's family ever washed a plastic cup, or at least that's not how they were portrayed. The term American is supposed to include all the cultures and stories of people living and building here. With Obama in the White House, I feel like that is more true and that this country is more mine to claim. I think that's what the whole opposition to Obama is about -- a wrestling against that cultural redefinition. Nu-Soul: The theme of your "My Love" promotional tour and interests in women's health and education in Ethiopia seem to suggest a general interest in the advancement of women. Could you tell us a little bit about what being a strong woman means to you and how your work and interests relate? Wayna: I was raised by two really strong women. My mom, who immigrated here in her 20s as a single mother and my late aunt Yeshi Imagnu, who was one of first women to attend Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and to later serve as a Dean there. Early on, I was very cognizant of their struggles to be taken seriously as immigrants, as mothers, and as professionals. I don't know if they ever expressed in words, but they taught me, through their own resilience and defiance, that women should be able to define their own lives. And that means everything from how we see ourselves to how we're treated in the world. So I've always been passionate about that and wanted to share the same life lessons in my writing and in whatever opportunities I have to give back. Nu-Soul: Are you as calm and level-headed as you sound on record? Wayna: Ha! You should ask my husband that! Honestly, I have my moments, but for the most part, I'm pretty peaceable. I haven't yet reached Obama-cool, but I'm pointed that way:) Nu-Soul: If there were one thing that listeners came away with after listening to your album, what would you want it to be? Wayna: I would hope that the songs would give them some insight into another person's story that they may not have otherwise thought they could relate to. That is my ultimate goal as an artist -- to help us celebrate our untold stories and connect in a meaningful way. Nu-Soul: How has being from Ethiopia and growing up in the DC area influenced your sound? Where do we hear that in your album? Wayna: On the song "Home," my favorite on Higher Ground, I write about the experience of being an immigrant who misses not only her homeland, but the feeling of not TRYING to belong. Also, on my first album, I did a duet with an Ethiopian vocalist/icon Teddy Tadessa on the song “Desperation Days.” And I have a song about AIDS and poverty in Ethiopia, which is my favorite on the first album, called “Slums of Paradise.” (shout out to RODDY ROD) In terms of future projects, I just completed a compilation album called Andromeda, with 2 Ethiopian emcees, B Sheeba and BurntFace, that merges hip hop/soul and traditional Ethiopian instruments. Nu-Soul: Name one artist or group from DC and another from Ethiopia who you feel have not gotten their due shine. Wayna: In DC, there is a new collective called OP Swamp 81 www.myspace.com/opswamp81. It is made up of Bilal Salaam (vocalist and songwriter), Dre King (trumpeteer, keyboardist and producer), SlimKat (producer), and an amazing new vocalist named DaNedra. They’re crazy. In Ethiopia, there is a new acoustic guitar and vocalist duo, who is mixing folk and traditional Ethiopian music in a truly brilliant way. They go by Munit and Jorga. Nu-Soul: When it is all said and done and you've had 25 years of the music industry behind you, what do you want the people to have said about Wayna? Wayna: I hope they would say that I spoke sincerely about real subjects and real people in an interesting way, that I made a quality catalogue of music that can be enjoyed after I'm gone, and that I made a contribution to honest, soulful music that new artists can be encouraged by. www.myspace.com/waynamusic www.wayna.net Purchase Wayna’s music at Itunes Purchase Wayna’s music at Amazon

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