On Friday September 23rd, singer/harpist Tulani performed and spoke to students in Professor Daniel’s 9:00 A.M. “Basic News Writing” class. She is, in fact, the only known person to incorporate soulful singing and movement into the art of being a harpist.
As she performed in front of the class, many students’ jaws dropped in awe over how she transformed from her peppy, girly self into a woman with so much deep, strong and soulful emotion once she took hold of her harp.
She reflects on a time her mother commented on one of her performances; apparently she kicked her leg up on the harp but had no recollection of the event at all. “Organically what comes out, comes out,” she said. “I put my leg up there and felt in the moment.”
The success of Tulani’s combination of musical elements lead her to tour with Chaka Khan and Lady Gaga. She even gets to travel all over the world on her own tours.
She spoke on behalf of finding her talent and never giving up. “Sometimes a door closes, and another one opens,” she says. “When you choose what to do in life, it’s almost as though it chooses you.”
As she recalls, many doors were closed for her. “My biggest obstacle was showing people that I could do pop and soul music with the harp,” she recalls. However, she never gave up even when she became frustrated from time to time. “The beauty of music is that it’s an evolution. It keeps growing as you keep growing,” she said.
Growing up in Washington, D.C. in a musically talented family, Tulani’s mother chose the harp for her to stick with. “I was such a hyper child growing up, my mother thought that it would calm me down when instead it allowed me to showcase my true persona.”
Later on, she moved to Atlanta to find the “happy medium” of playing the harp, with being able to sing and dance as well. Since Atlanta has a notorious “independent music scene”, Tulani got her real start here. Here mother even pushed her to pursue her calling. She recalls that her mother said “no one has ever done something like sing soul and play the harp, so you should do that.”
Tulani is currently an independent artist, free of any label or contract “It's a temporary sacrifice for a permanent way of living” she says. “It’s an investment in your dream, saying ‘I’m doing this now for this later’ ”.
Katherine Avery is a junior currently enrolled in the 9:00 section of Basic News Writing at Georgia State University. Her major is journalism with a concentration in Public Relations. Follow Katherine on Instagram @kat_von_ave
