Internationally touring, Atlanta based singer/song… Read Full Bio ↴DORIA ROBERTS BIO
Internationally touring, Atlanta based singer/songwriter Doria Roberts was born and raised in inner city Trenton, NJ but schooled in the neighboring yet decidedly more affluent Princeton, NJ. Her first introduction to music was her sisters vinyl record collection including the Brothers Johnson, Marvin Gaye, the Sugar Hill Gang and Ricki Lee Jones. A dancer from the age of 3, she was exposed to classical offerings during ballet class, ragtime during tap training and pop music in her modern jazz dance lessons. By age 10, she was starring in musicals in local childrens theater and choral productions once performing a lead role in Gilbert & Sullivans classic HMS Pinafore. At age 17, she produced her first event directing, staging, acting in, and even promoting the topically controversial play Laundry and Bourbon as part of her senior project.
By the time she was off to college, she had incorporated the likes of Public Enemy, De La Soul, and the uber literate hip hop of KRS One into her listening repertoire. While toiling away as a scholarship student at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in East Asian Studies (with side bars in linguistics, business and art history) and aspiring to be an executive art dealer in Tokyo, she discovered the power folk of the Indigo Girls, Bob Dylans and Joni Mitchells storytelling, the tortured brilliance of John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix, along with the quirky punk, tongue in cheek rebellion of Public Image Limited and black rock ska outfit Fishbone. And, like many women of her generation, she stumbled upon the rising star and fierce, feminist zeitgeist Ani DiFranco during an unplanned trip to a New York City dive.
However, Roberts was still only an observer and lover of music throughout college and didnt become a musician herself until senior year when a series of life changing events redirected her priorities. She picked up a roommates beer stained guitar for comfort and the lessons of the Tao Te Ching won over the Dow Jones. Eevntually, she embarked on her deeply personal though socially concious and committed musical path.
In 1999 (i.e. 6 years and 100 coffeehouses later), she won a slot to appear at Lilith Fair and was poised to sign a major label deal along with Atlanta based peers John Mayer and India Arie. However, a dubious piece of legislation changing copyright law in favor of the labels prompted the activist in Roberts to step away from potentially lucrative offers and release her own record. Though originally intending to simply wait out the storm, Roberts eventually found herself at the helm of her own label instead.
Since then she has released and self produced five independent and nationally distributed records on her imprint Hurricane Doria Records, has appeared at the internationally recognized Montreux Jazz Festival and has headlined Gay Pride events in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Stockholm, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. She has also opened for or shared the stage with legendary folk singer Odetta, Janis Ian, the Indigo Girls, John Mayer, blues legends the Holmes Brothers, Chris Smither avant-garde R&B priestess Meshell Ndegeocello, world music darling Angelique Kidjo, the late poet laureate Gwendolyn Brooks, Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker and many others.
In 2004, she was awarded both the Anderson Leadership Prize from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and the Orfeo Musica Humanitarian Award from the Tupilak Arts Consortium-Nordic in Stockholm, Sweden. Both awards were given in recognition of her willingness to fuse her music with her activist work and for creating major performance opportunities and outlets for other independent artists and youth at risk. She was also nominated for the 2005 Collin Higgins Courage Award.
Currently, she is the sole producer of the 11 year old Queerstock Festival & Tour, the Black Eyed Susans Tribute Series and various other fundraising and awareness events.
Roberts has finally finished recording her sixth release and the CD entitles "Woman Dangerous" is out. It was recorded at the venerable Treesound Studios (Elton John, Outkast, Indigo Girls, Collective Soul, Usher) in Atlanta, GA and co-produced by Zack Odom. On this major indie effort, Roberts once again effortlessly and seamlessly melds her diverse musical heritage into a solid set of provocative musings on life and love and everything that happens in between.
Black Pearl
Doria Roberts Lyrics
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Shift of her hips she was out of my bed
Standing in the corner with her hands on her head
This world is too big of a place for me
Seeing things I don't want to see
Tempted to be things I do not want to be
And I cannot feel this world
I'm tired of this pain
Drowning in this wave
Once I was a little girl
Had no problems with this world
This world was an oyster I was its black pearl
But now I'm tall enough to see their eyes
I'm smart enough to fight their lies
You know I'm big enough
Don't need to worry about my size
And I'm fast enough
I don't need to run
I'm smart enough
I don't need their guns
You know I work too hard but
I still know how to have my fun
Doria Roberts’s song Black Pearl seems to capture the internal struggle of a woman who is grappling with her identity while navigating her way through the world with its various socio-political struggles. The lyrics suggest that she is trying to come to terms with both her past and present life, and she feels burdened by the weight of the pain she has experienced. The first stanza describes an encounter with a woman who seems to be battling with her own issues. She is restless, and her body language suggests she is uncomfortable. The singer of the song, who is also a woman, observes her and muses that the world is too big a place for her with all its troubles. The woman in question is tempted to do things she does not want to do and see things she does not want to see.
The second stanza is a reflection on the singer's own experiences, and she remembers a time when she was a carefree child with no problems. She calls herself "black pearl," implying that she was once precious and rare, and the world was her oyster. However, as she has grown older and has become aware of the world around her, things have changed. She is now aware of how people view her, and she has learned to fight against their lies. The singer is now a powerful, smart, and independent woman who does not need anyone to validate her size or strength. Despite the struggles she has faced, she has not lost sight of the things that bring her joy, and she knows how to have her fun.
Line by Line Meaning
Got a little problem she said
She began to express her problem to me.
Shift of her hips she was out of my bed
She turned her hips then left my bed.
Standing in the corner with her hands on her head
She stood against the wall and placed her hands on her head.
This world is too big of a place for me
This world is too vast and complicated for me.
Seeing things I don't want to see
I witness things that I refuse to see.
Tempted to be things I do not want to be
I am pressured to become things I do not want to be.
And I cannot feel this world
I am numb to the emotions that come along with living in this world.
I'm tired of this pain
I am exhausted with feeling pain.
Caught up in my anger
I am overcome with my anger.
Drowning in this wave
I am overwhelmed and consumed by a situation in my life.
Once I was a little girl
There was a point in time when I was young and innocent.
Had no problems with this world
I didn't have any problems with the world when I was young and naive.
This world was an oyster I was its black pearl
I thought the world was mine for the taking.
But now I'm tall enough to see their eyes
I am now old enough to see through people's motivations and intentions.
I'm smart enough to fight their lies
I am wise enough to identify and combat deceitful behavior.
You know I'm big enough
I am strong and capable enough to handle any challenge.
Don't need to worry about my size
My physical appearance is not a factor to worry about.
And I'm fast enough
I am quick and able to keep up with the pace of life.
I don't need to run
I don't need to flee from my problems.
I'm smart enough
I am intelligent enough to navigate through life's challenges.
I don't need their guns
I don't need any external assistance to protect myself.
You know I work too hard but
I am a diligent worker, but...
I still know how to have my fun
I also know how to enjoy my life outside of work.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ADAMS, LANGE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind