'Idea 1' Lyrics: Kelela Returns With New Song to Launch Her Next Era
Kelela is back!
The Raven singer returned on Wednesday (April 8) with “idea 1,” kicking off a brand new chapter in her career.
Keep reading to find out more…
The song was produced by Oscar Scheller, and the accompanying music video was directed by 91 Rules (Erik Saltzman and Cameron Tidball-Sciullo).
Ahead of the song’s release, she previewed the music at a screening for fans in Soho on Monday (April 6) in New York City.
“‘idea 1′ is about what it feels like to exist in this climate — the weight of being expected to witness, absorb, and speak truth at a time when the world feels like it’s unraveling,” Kelela says.
“That’s a particular kind of burden Black women know intimately. This song doesn’t offer answers, it just refuses to look away. Co-writing it with my best friend Janiva Ellis, hearing Oscar‘s production give it shape, and then watching 91 Rules bring that tension to life visually feels like the beginning of a much larger conversation I’m ready to have.”
“Born in a garage????????and written while I was reading Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower,” she added of the track’s inspiration.
Here’s a synopsis of the 1993 book: “In 2024, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future. Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others. When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.”
Watch the music video for “Idea 1″…
Read the lyrics to “Idea 1″…