Nashville-based artist/music therapist/activist Kyshona releases her latest album, ‘Legacy’, on 26th April via Soundly Music. Kyshona co-produced the record with producer/engineer/mixer Rachael Moore with whom she assembled a team of engineers, musicians, singers, and featured guests to record in Memphis at Matt Ross-Spang’s Southern Grooves Studio. ‘Legacy’ comprises 13 songs including co-writes with Aaron Lee Tasjan, Brittney Spencer, Caroline Spence, and her late grandfather, Hawthorne “H.T.” Armstrong. It features guest appearances from Keb Mo’, Ruthie Foster, Odessa Settles amongst others.
Kyshona crafted the album to capture the history, character, essence, and honest stories of her ancestors and family so generations that come after will have something to hold onto. “This project is an invitation to others to do the same, in their own way. Maybe tracking my family’s stories into song will be a healing for not only me, but others who feel untethered or isolated, removed from their origins,” she says. ”My hope is we can rediscover the past together, and in doing so understand more about ourselves in the future.”
‘Legacy’, however, is not only an album — it is a multi-faceted project. In preparation, Kyshona worked with a genealogist at the Robert Frederick Smith Explore Your Family History Center at The Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History & Culture. She and her family have traced five generations, the oldest record dating back to the 1860 US Census Slave Schedules. Searching for information and its meaning, studying records, photographs, and gathering stories has been a rich part of this album’s creation. Developing relationships with organisations that support communities seeking to do this type of research has also been a part of the process. Kyshona has said she hopes to connect followers and fans with resources and experienced professionals dedicated to helping black Americans trace their ancestry and collect their stories, too. She wants to create a platform for those who wish to share their stories and experiences, so they can be heard by others through song. She documents stories of legacy to encourage, inspire, and support the next generation to come.
Latest single, ‘The Echo’, was co-written with Caroline Spence, and tells the story of Kyshona’s great grandparents’ commitment to the land and how they showed their families the importance of land ownership and seed planting. “Every action they committed to has led to my existence, and my parents’ existence and their parent’s and theirs, and…,” she says. “I may not know where our tree began or who their names are, but I do know that a small piece of them runs through my veins to this day.” You can listen to it below.
The album is available to pre-save/ pre-order here.
