(April 15, 2017) -- Siedah Garrett has been associated with some of the best and most memorable songs in the last 25 or 30 years, either as a vocalist or a songwriter. Her voice can be heard on “Don’t Look Any Further” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” Those two duets paired her with two strong and distinct male vocalists in Dennis Edwards and Michael Jackson respectively. Garrett’s work on Jackson’s Bad caught the attention of producer Quincy Jones, who involved her on his seminal Back On the Block Album.
(April 15, 2017) -- Siedah Garrett has been associated with some of the best and most memorable songs in the last 25 or 30 years, either as a vocalist or a songwriter. Her voice can be heard on “Don’t Look Any Further” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” Those two duets paired her with two strong and distinct male vocalists in Dennis Edwards and Michael Jackson respectively. Garrett’s work on Jackson’s Bad caught the attention of producer Quincy Jones, who involved her on his seminal Back On the Block Album.
The list of notable people with whom Garrett has worked includes Madonna, Tevin Campbell and the Pointer Sisters. Garrett was a member of the Brand New Heavies and she has a career as a solo artist. Her accolades include Grammy wins and Oscar nominations, but she is best known for co-writing credit that she earned on Bad for “Man in the Mirror.” Garrett recalled wanting to write a song that would be different than the love and dance tunes that Jackson sang so well, and “Man in the Mirror,” a track about being accountable to yourself for doing good in the world, certainly fits the bill.
It is that same out of the box thinking that drives Garrett’s latest single G.H.E.T.T.O,” a number that pairs her with yet another distinct voice in hip hop artist Common. This track tells the story of two people from different sides of the tracks, and it shows that location is not always destiny. On this song Garrett confronts the sociological and dictionary definitions of the word “ghetto,” as well as the negative connotations the word denotes in popular culture, in order to repurpose and redefine the word. Her take is - as usual - unique. Check it out.
By Howard Dukes
Siedah Garrett feat. Common - "G.H.E.T.T.O."