About Karimah · Edmonton, AB
Audiences at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks’ April 2019 LOVESTRUCK will remember its warm, deep-voiced narrator and singer/guitarist. Two months prior, they’d have been struck by the powerhouse singer that opened for Lynn Olagundoye at Studio Bell. Karimah is her moniker, and her wide-ranging, raw, visceral and technically impressive voice will stop you in your tracks. Born Ashanti Karimah Marshall, she grew up in Edmonton where she drew inspiration from creative activities at the piano, visual arts and drama classes. Spending time in the rock band Noisy Colours as Ashanti, the blues duo Two Blue, she re-branding herself Karimah with a new sound that reflects her early church choir involvement plus soul, pop and jazz influences for a sound she dubs retro-futuristic pop. Oh, and she’s the only Albertan to place in Quebec’s La Voix plus has a U of A human ecology degree. Karimah’s current musical activities include the HonorRoll Music Collective and the music-dance-poetry collaboration Black Girl Magic. She’s a woman with a message, a distinct passion and the voice to carry it, using songs to process sometimes dark human experiences.