Album Notes

One of the most interesting facets of The Awakening is that many of Philadelphia’s musical favorites and talents currently stampeding the arts scene have all come together to record and add their spice to Traycee Lynn's cd. Whether it be background vocals, instruments, or music production (ranging from the cello, guitar, bass, drums, calimbo, djembe, and so on) the listener will get a unique exposure to Philly's sound today and a sneak peak at where Philly's sound is headed.

Among those contributing to this project include international trumpeter Jafar Barron (who featured on the debut albums of Jill Scott and Erykah Badu), nationally known guitarist Gabrielle Guma of Tangible Truth and several more.

"THE MUSIC IS...FUN, SEXY, YET INTELLECTUAL"
Traycee Lynn, international songstress, emcee and budding producer is the latest wave to burst through Philadelphia’s underground. This highly anticipated cd goes from soul to hip-hop with spurts of rock and spoken word in a “fun, sexy, yet intellectual” hypnotic way that makes the cd an instant classic on the rise.

SOUNDS LIKE:
Vocally compared to Erykah Badu, Lynn's honey alto voice is soothing and hypnotic. A rare and extremely gifted songwriter, Traycee Lynn's lyrics reflect an old soul reminiscent of Marvin Gaye and Lauryn Hill, yet skillfully modernized with the hip-hop storytelling finesse of Nas.

INSPIRED BY:
Outside of her music, Lynn provides a powerful platform for artists and writers through her independent publication called Writer Blocks, a Philadelphia-based magazine “for artists-by artists” where Lynn claims much of her influence for this project was inspired by the artists she interviewed in 2005-2006 including Common, Jaguar Wright, Floetry, Saul Williams, Van Hunt and more.

“When I started recording for this project, I just did what I felt like doing. I wasn’t thinking of genre boxes or record deals. I just wanted to create and be myself. I ended up mixing different genres but they still have that common denominator of soul to them. As a result, snippets from the Writer Blocks interviews were added to help transition from soul to hip-hop, or from rock to soul, and so on,” comments Lynn who credits venues like October Gallery and the Philadelphia International Art Expo as grooming venues for her songwriting.

FEARLESS TO BE DIFFERENT
Fearless of stepping out, exploring and mixing genres, Lynn may have accidentally started on a new brand of soul and hip-hop…

“I titled the cd The Awakening because I wanted to awaken music, musicians, and writers…I wanted them to remember the power and responsibility of music, and how it could make us feel and think. I didn’t feel we had that anymore, at least not in mainstream, and I'm hoping to breakthrough with this project…sounding the alarm.”