WQED Sessions

Clara Kent
Clara Kent's music is a blend of genres, including soul, jazz, blues, and hip-hop and more. She performs her original song "Souled" at the Afro American Music Institute in Pittsburgh's Homewood neighborhood, where Ms. Kent grew up.
TRANSCRIPT
- If I had to put myself in a genre box,
I would break the box and say,
"Just look at it like a foundation of soul music
with multiple genres attached".
Jazz and soul is definitely what crafted me.
You can hear that in my music I love soft rock,
that is also how I get my little like melodies and stuff.
Like Clara Kent as a artist is definitely
all about being honest and being raw, being real.
♪ Yeah, yeah
♪ You pick up the phone when you see me calling, calling ♪
Being an artist, I'm very spiritual
but I'm also from Homewood, Homewood raised.
I'm about my people.
Homewood is a beautiful place,
it's a beautiful place full of talented people.
But it's been hit hard with a lot of ails of the world.
And we're overlooked a lot,
like people don't realize that we have children
and elders and families.
And we have a lot of culture in Homewood
especially in music and in art.
I want to help as much as I can.
If I can use my art to help people,
that's what I want to do.
(guitar playing)
♪ Yeah
♪ Oh, yeah
♪ Yeah
♪ I can't pretend that
♪ I was in love
♪ I won't defend that
♪ I ever was
♪ No matter what, you weren't the one ♪
♪ And nothing can mend whatever wasn't ♪
♪ Whatever doesn't mean a thing ♪
♪ If you ain't hearing me
♪ And we ain't even a thing
♪ It's no thing
♪ There's nothing, yeah
♪ There ain't no room for me
♪ But what room would be for me ♪
♪ If there's no thing
♪ There's nothing
♪ I sold myself short
♪ Your punishment for being low ♪
♪ I sold myself short
♪ Your punishment for being low, yeah ♪
♪ I sold myself short
♪ I, I sold myself
♪ I don't want to, I sold myself ♪
♪ I think a sister needs some help ♪
♪ You look at me, I'm a mess
♪ Your full of stress
♪ All because I forget the test life gives ♪
♪ If failed, it don't make me less ♪
♪ It took some hard times
♪ It took nights, took tears in my eyes ♪
♪ And so much from me
♪ That I gained more,
♪ Whoa, yeah
♪ I sold myself short
♪ Your punishment for being low ♪
♪ I sold myself short
♪ Punishment for being low
♪ I sold myself short, I
♪ I sold myself, I
♪ I sold myself to the dark
♪ It harbors all of my thoughts ♪
♪ I put my mind in a box
♪ Then tied it down to the rocks ♪
♪ Water loosened the ties
♪ And I'm out my mind
♪ Just in time
♪ I sunk deeper down inside
♪ The darkness led to the light ♪
♪ I freed myself, yeah, yeah
♪ Oh, yeah
(Clara sings melodic runs)
♪ I sold myself and I don't want to ♪
♪ I sold myself
I'm kind of like introspective, simple,
complicated, artistic, goofy.
I'm like Rafiki.
He's like one of my favorite characters in the world.
(laughs)
So he's like one of my favorite characters in the world
because he's really goofy and child-like,
but he's super wise and balanced
and like certain of himself.
And that's my goal in life, is to be like Rafiki.
And he's like,
he (foreign language)
You know he got a little bars to him.
Just joking though.
But yeah.
- [Interviewer] No, you're right.
(Clara laughs)
(Clara Kent, The Call)