Muhsinah

schememag.com

So much of what we do in life is driven in the end by the all mighty dollar. How many of us can actually say we do it for the love and really mean it? There’s no problem with eating but when that is strictly the end all be all then where is the love? Washington, DC and Philly native Muhsinah which stands for “Doer of Good Deeds� is here to do as many of them as possible and take whomever wants to join her for the journey. Before you read any further please scroll all the way to the bottom of this piece and click on ‘Millions’ you have to scroll the mediaplayer to the bottom and whatever you do in life after hearing this track you shall hopefully be inspired to take whatever fears you have and realize that in that end it’s not all that bad.

Scheme: What does Muhsinah actually mean?

Muhsinah: It’s Arabic it means doer of good deeds.

Scheme: What was your childhood like growing up in the District?

Muhsinah: I was born in DC but I spent babyhood in Philly. I went to Duke Ellington here in DC and started playing piano and going to Duke was a distinct experience. It was very cool growing up in DC I was always exposed to art and different people.

Scheme: What about the music here in DC?

Muhsinah: My parents were really into jazz, soul music and 70’s stuff. As far as DC there was Chuck Brown and there were certain underground people. As a kid I was listening to the Boys and New Edition. I really didn’t have this big artsy childhood I was chillin.

Scheme: Did you find your love for music at Duke or was it before that?

Muhsinah: It was before that, I put myself in dance classes (tap) when I was three and I did ballet but it was too rigid. I started taking piano lessons when I was eleven and before that I was singing in school choirs. The moment when I really liked music was when I had a friend who played the piano and I would sit and watch her and think damn I could do that. So the next day I went home and told my mom I wanted to take piano lessons. Two years after that I was accompanying choirs after school, playing classical music and being in competitions-my background musically was very classically based.

Scheme: So when did you start getting into the drum and what equipment do you use?

Muhsinah: I use the MP2000XL.

Scheme: What was the first piece of equipment you used?

Muhsinah: (Laughs) I had a muppet babies keyboard, I wasn’t making beats on it but I was playing keys like I was making beats, I wasn’t sequencing but I was jamming. I always had pianos at the house, I had a digital piano that had a sequencer on it and it had drums on it so I would mess with the drums. I didn’t start making beats on the MPC until recently.

Scheme: When did you start getting recognized for your craft?

Muhsinah: Probably around the same point that I put up my Myspace page. Myspace is a great outlet for people who otherwise wouldn’t be known or heard. So I put that up in with in a few months people were hitting me up.

“…sometimes I might not listen to anything for a few days so I know what it is that I want to say. Sometimes as a musician it’s very easy to take from a lot of different places.�

Scheme: What is your process in making your music and where do you get your inspiration from?

Muhsinah: I listen to a lot of different kinds of music as many different kinds as I can get. As far as making music, sometimes I might not listen to anything for a few days so I know what it is that I want to say. Sometimes as a musician it’s very easy to take from a lot of different places. I try to find whatever that place is and mess around. Sometimes I start out with drums and sing stuff over the drums and sometimes I start out with the piano, and it also depends on how much time I have and what the facility is.

Scheme: What is your schedule like because you just came back from India, so what are you currently in the process of doing?

Muhsinah: I’m actually a freelance sound editor and I get hired for movie projects to do sound. If I do I’m either at home or at their place doing sound. For now I don’t have a project so I’m just doing music.

Scheme: How long do you find yourself in the room or in your house making music when you have time like this?

Muhsinah: I try to do it everyday, even if it’s something I might not keep. Lately I’ve been doing it more and I’ve had time while I was in India to do it more and I learned a lot more about myself. My style has changed a bit so don’t expect the same stuff (laughs).

Scheme: Besides India where else have you traveled to?

Muhsinah: I went to France as a teenager with a Jazz band in high school, I went to Venezuela while in college and I’m so thankful for all of that.

Scheme: If you had your choice would you keep your day job or would you do both of them?

Muhsinah: I think I would try and merge the two. I always had a dream to be a film scorer. When I was in - Scheme Magazine