| Jodi L. Merriday is one of
the most provocative, innovative and colorful writers and
vocalist to emerge in her generation. She is noted most commonly
as a scholar of African-American culture and aesthetics and
as a phenomenal avante guarde jazz vocalist. More recently
her combinations of spoken word, jazz, soul, and crunk have
pivoted her to the forefront of new discourse in music. She
identifies her music and performance ethos as jazz and aspires
to provide social and human justice narratives that provoke
a high level of consciousness, deliberation and love.
Her first cd, “Sundance” independently
released in 1999 was asserted by jazz and poetry enthusiasts
to be, “one of the most innovative projects of the new
millennium”. More recently, her contributions to twice
Grammy nominated Russell Gunn’s Ethnomusicology 3 performing
Stranger Fruit and her original, Stranger Fruit were described
by Kelly Vance as a “stark, bitter condemnation of lynching
with superb contemporary spoken word”.
Jodi Merriday’s vocal talent is paralleled
only by her commitment to being a scholar of African-American
music and culture. In 2006 she was awarded a Doctorate in
African-American Studies by Temple University. Her dissertation,
“Hip Hop HerStory: Women in Hip Hop Cultural Production
and Music from Margins to Equity” is the first scholarly
undertaking of its magnitude of women in Hip Hop. The core
of her artistry and scholarship are the journey, narrative,
and centrality of women as agents of social change through
music. Jodi is currently an Assistant Professor of History
at Gordon College. She has also taught at Georgia State University,
Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Art Institute of
Philadelphia and Community College of Philadelphia.
Jodi L. Merriday is one the few artist/scholars
of her generation to integrate blues, jazz and soul with her
ATL homegrown genre, crunk. She has received numerous awards
and distinctions for her work and promises to make artistic,
literary, and scholarly contributions for years to come.
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Hampton University Cum Laude Graduate, Alpha
Kappa Delta Honor Society, Temple University Future Faculty
Fellow Recipient, Hampton University C.W. Mills Sociological
Imagination Award, University of Pennsylvania Samuel Fels
Foundation Award Recipient
MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., The Magnolia
Chapter of the Links, Inc., Recording Secretary 05-06, Atlanta
Chapter of Jack n’ Jill, Inc., Board Member, Jerusalem
House, NAACP, S.C.L.C. Women, National Urban League Young
Professionals
PUBLICATIONS
AND PRESENTATIONS
Liner Notes: Afro Blue cd, “Let the
Circle Be Unbroken”, produced in Atlanta, GA
Artistic statement: Bassist, Taurus Mateen
Invited Guest Lecturer: “The African
Roots of Jazz”, Morris Brown College, Atlanta, GA
Invited Guest Lecturer: “The Sociology,
Anthropology, and Psychology of Jazz”, Clark Atlanta
University Music Department, Atlanta, GA
Presenter: “Hip-Hop and Generation
X”, Spelman College – Africans in the Diaspora
and World Faculty Workshop, Atlanta, GA
Facilitator: “Hip-Hop vs. Maat: New
Models for Youth Service Programming”, The National
Football League – Youth Education Town, Atlanta, GA
Guest speaker: “Africanisms in Jazz
Genre”, 89.3 WRFG Public Radio, Atlanta, GA
Guest speaker: “The Future of Jazz”,
91.9 WCLK Public Radio, Atlanta, GA
Performer – Black Students Award Ceremony,
Agnes Scott College, Atlanta, GA
Performer – Atlanta Jazz Festival,
Atlanta, GA
Performer – National Black Arts Festival
– Sacred Circle Spoken Word, Atlanta, GA
Competitor – Grand Manier Martell Poetry Slam, Atlanta,
GA 2nd place winner
Feature- Saturn Woman-to-Woman w/Nikki Giovanni
and Sonja Sanchez, Atlanta, GA
Competitor – Funk
Jazz Café Poetry Corner – Sunbird Slam Winner,
Atlanta, GA 1st place
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