The Book of Jonah is the new album from Nadir Omowale. It’s a blend of soul music, rock, funk and blues. While there are songs about love and relationships, themes of social and political consciousness carry through the album.
“I never felt like I had to fashion myself into one particular style. I grew up on Prince and The Time and Cameo and all that good stuff, and so funk is all deep within my soul. And I grew up in a small town in east Tennessee, so there were country music influences, there was a lot of Van Halen and rock and roll and so I love all of that music," Nadir told Michigan Radio's Jennifer White.
Religious themes are also found in his work. Nadir says growing up within a Baptist family in Tennessee has influenced him greatly. Although his new album is not as political as his last, Distorted Soul 2.0, he says his interest in politics and culture continues.
"And it's really inspired by a lot of the struggles that we've dealt with here in Michigan, and in Detroit especially, and what I've seen over the last couple of years is so much positive energy building as we're moving forward," said Nadir.
Listen to the full interview above to hear more about Nadir's newest album The Book of Jonah, including the song he wrote with guitarist and singer Mayaeni, titled 95 Miles Down the Road.
And click on the video below to see Nadir performing in our studio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsHpNMGTdKg
