Gabbie McGee | Mississippi’s Daughter

Album Review: Gabbie McGee | Mississippi’s Daughter
By Susan Mutharia

I describe a gifted singer as an artist who could simply hum the alphabet and manage to get us enchanted. I describe a gifted singer as an artist whose sound radiates energy in a room without their physical presence. I describe a gifted singer as an artist whom, with much wisdom, tells stories in their song and leaves us begging for more just like a child. New to my list of gifted artist is Gabbie McGee.

Exactly who is Gabbie McGee? As she describes herself, she is Mississippi’s daughter, a flower that grew from the ashes of Mississippi. Labeling her music with one genre would be trying to contain her in a box which I imagine would be suffocating. Her music crosses every genre from jazz to soul, gospel to even a little bit edgy rock. That’s what makes her new album Mississippi’s Daughter brilliant!

The album begins with the gospel track Walk With Me a prayer as she begins this journey. The album then breaks into the jazzy tune Afterwhile, Afterwhile where she starts to tell us the story of her life, lessons she learnt from the generations before her and lessons she passes along to other generations including her children. In the song Oak Tree particularly, Gabbie pays tribute to her great grandmother who laid a foundation for her family. “I am because she was,” says Gabbie in the interview clip with 97.8 that is included in the album.

Mississippi’s Daughter is breathtaking. We all know the history of growing up in the dark ages of Mississippi, however as she sings, “…I am Mississippi’s daughter/ the struggle didn’t stop me/ it taught me how to finish the fight.” The weight of the album sits in this song and there is much to learn. While you endure struggle, don’t let the struggle be the final period in the last chapter of your book.  There is more to you than the struggles, finish the fight and finish the race defining the rules of the game each time.

After listening to the album Mississippi’s Daughter, I could not help but think of William Shakespeare’s quote “To thine ownself be true.”  Gabbie McGee has stayed true to herself in this album. She has used her vessel, her voice, to share her journey, express gratitude and pass along knowledge learned along the way. The album is spiritually uplifting and by the moment you listen to the last track, you might be encouraged to Run On! If not, oh well, you will still be thoroughly entertained.

If you have enjoyed the likes of Nina Simone, Chrisette Michelle, Jill Scott and Ledisi to name a few, this is a must buy album.

Susan Mutharia
The Urban Music Scene