Jaguar Wright 'Denials Delusions and Decisions' album

It's all about the live performance for Jaguar Wright, the newest artist from The Roots' Motive Records imprint. Part Ella, part Millie, and all uniquely soulful, her voice and her performance are both unforgettable. Picture this: she takes the stage, her shirt reads "Kick Azz" embroidered in gold. As she starts to scat, her voice reminds you of Ella Fitzgerald. In the front row, die-hard fans cluster to absorb the ruckus and joy that comes with every Jaguar performance.

In a few minutes Jaguar has almost cried over her cheating lover and now is pantomiming her revenge, her voice bellowing like the best of church singers as she rages on. "Singing is healing for me. It gives me a sense of myself, a feeling of order. My life makes sense when I sing," says Jag as she herself, explains the heart of her performances.

Jaguar grew up in a religiously devout household where her father sang in church, weddings, and other social functions, providing inspiration for her to cultivate her own musical talent. But she and her siblings were also left thirsting for a chance to listen to the sounds of artists like Minnie Ripperton and Marvin Gaye since they were not allowed to listen to the radio. "I used to love block parties because I could sit there and listen to Earth, Wind and Fire all day. Otherwise, most of the time I had to keep the radio off," says Jag who only got to listen to the radio when she and her siblings would sneak midnight listening sessions in their backyard or garage or on the rare occasions when their parents were not at home. " As soon as I'd see the front fender of [her parent's car], we would jam to the last eight bars of music and they'd come in there and we would be sitting down. We were good," she exclaims. Her father was so strict, he once threw a notebook of her rhymes into the fireplace, for it was through rapping that Jaguar found her first performance outlet. As a skillful and unique singer, Jaguar has come a long way from rapping and jumping rope with her first group, Philly Blunts, which performed together for 4 years. She credits her experience as a rapper for playing a strong role in her improvisational, unpredictable, and audience-centered performance. "Singing and rapping feed off each other. Singing allowed me to bring that rapping element back into play, in terms of lyrics," she says.

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Jaguar Wright - Denials Delusions and Decisions