Self-described ‘biker babe’ Cynthia Jones keeps the faith in her music
By Charles Hallman
Staff Writer
Shortly after its April 2008 release, the title track from Cynthia Jones’ 2008 CD Gotta Soul successfully stormed the radio airwaves. Therefore, the Kingdom Records gospel artist hopes a similar outburst occurs with her third effort, Journey of Soul, that was released in August.
The Raleigh, North Carolina native’s neo-soul musical and personal style, which includes her red Afro, is unmistakable. Her third gospel CD’s cover is a prime example: It shows Jones proudly sitting on a motorcycle. She once founded the first all-female motorcycle group in Raleigh, called the Ebony Angels, and later started another cycle group — The Soul Patrol, a female Christian motorcycle ministry.
“I’m a biker babe — I love riding motorcycles,” says Jones, speaking with the MSR by phone from her home. “I [can] still ride [and] be in a group of ladies who were interested in promoting the gospel by way of two wheels.”
According to Jones, Journey of Soul picks up where Gotta Soul, which earned her a 2009 Grammy nomination, left off.
“Gotta Soul is part one, and Journey of Soul is part two,” she explains.
The 19-track CD starts off with the sound of the motorcycle revving up. “I’m getting ready to take a journey, and take you on a journey. I thought it was appropriate to hear me start it up and peel off.”
Journey of Soul has something for everybody, Jones believes. “I did a little bit of everything. I went from traditional (“What a Mighty God”) to club (“Judah Jam” and “Universal Praise”), then I went straight back to neo-soul,” she notes.
Although Jones says the CD’s title cut is getting airplay on R&B stations, “Unconditional” might be the best of all. The song, along with “He Loves Me,” are fast becoming favorites among the steppers crowd, says Jones. “That community has embraced those two songs.”
As a youngster, Jones took piano lessons — she also learned to play the drums and organ. “I could hear anything and pick it up. So I started learning by ear” after her music teacher died. Then her songwriting also emerged as an eighth grader, when during a class assignment she wrote a poem and put it to music.
“I wrote ‘I Love You More Each Day,’” notes Jones, who adds that it now has become a staple in her musical repertoire as a wedding song.
She believes her songwriting and singing is a gift: “I knew I had something I wanted the world to hear. I wanted to be that one that God could depend on no matter what, no matter how high He takes me or what setting I might be on — a jazz lounge or in a pulpit of a church. Wherever I go, you are going to get the real Cynthia Jones.”
Jones doesn’t back down from her beliefs. She says she refuses to sing gospel songs with “watered-down lyrics.”
“I think it is a disservice when God places us before multitudes of people, on platforms where millions can hear us by way of television and radio, then all of a sudden you sing a song that can go either way [secular or Christian].”
Whether it’s writing or performing live, it’s all the same for Jones — exciting.
“I get so excited when I am writing songs. When God gives it to me, He gives it to me as a total package — the music and the lyrics. But I’m still in anticipation to do the concert where I can present it to the people and just see the reactions.”
Jones has been favorably compared to other neo-soul women such as Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and Lauryn Hill, a comparison she says she’ll take any day. “Those ladies are crooners. They can really bring it.”
Today’s technology has become a perfect vehicle for gospel artists such as Jones, she points out. “It definitely is a plus because there are so many avenues, and it’s right at your fingertips. Digital downloads are wonderful.”
Jones’ upcoming tour, scheduled to start in December, is aptly titled “The Journey of Soul Family Heritage Tour.”
“We have a library in North Carolina and [it] has an ancestry registry for family Bibles,” she explains. Family Bibles, in the past, were often the only places where births, marriages and deaths in a family were recorded. “Out of 2,800 family Bibles registered, there is only one African American [Bible]. We don’t understand [not] leaving some type of ancestry journal to pass on for your loved ones to find where they came from.”
As a result, Jones is asking folk to bring their family Bibles to her concerts: “We want to scan [them] and put them online so your family members can find you later.”
Journey of Soul is Jones’ best effort to date. “My message is very loud and clear,” she concludes. “It all comes out in the project.”
For more information on Cynthia Jones, go to www.cynthiajones.com.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com
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