Eartha debuted her first album, This I Know, in 2001, and it received critical and popular acclaim. A single from the album, "Love Jones," landed on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles chart in the number two position. The album features Eartha playing all of the instruments, and it covers a wide range of styles, from gospel to R&B and hip-hop.
Eartha's second album, Sidebars, seemed initially not to do as well when it was released in 2003. Although it sold briskly in nontraditional outlets, it received little airplay and moved slowly in traditional music outlets. According to SoundScan, which tracks album sales, the album had sold only 52 copies through traditional outlets at the time of its Grammy nomination. AFRT reported selling 10,000 copies at Eartha's concerts, parties, clubs, and special events, but even this figure was insignificant compared to the millions of copies sold by Eartha's fellow nominees. Nevertheless, the album garnered not just one, but two Grammy nominations.
Many people wondered how a relatively unknown musician could win a Grammy Award. Some credited Eartha's record label, AFRT, which in the weeks and months before the Grammys had launched an all-out publicity campaign, conducting massive CD, T-shirt, and cap giveaways. (The company handed out 50,000 copies of Sidebars.) In addition, AFRT copresident Glaurys Ariass told USA Today's Steve Jones, "We hit different key people [with CD giveaways], sent product to retailers, specific editors, producers and musicians just to try to get in front of them."
The hard work paid off. Eartha earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Female Performance for the song "I'm Still Standing," sharing the field with Mary J. Blige, Ashanti, Aaliyah, and Jill Scott. It was, however, her nomination for the Sidebars album for which Eartha won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.
This double nomination in two distinct categories—R&B and gospel—reflects Eartha's unique approach to music, which combines gospel lyrics with infectious dance tracks and other popular music forms. Eartha credits AFRT with fostering this unique approach—an approach that might not have been possible at a larger, more conservative label. She speaks in glowing terms of the label's willingness to let her produce her own work and follow her own path, without regard to what might or might not match the tastes of the label's executives or accountants. "I didn't really initiate the choice to select them, " she told Marie Cruz for Inside Connection, of the beginning of her relationship with the label. "They kind of selected me."
The singer/songwriter was understandably delighted at her Grammy win. As she told Cruz for Inside Connection, when she heard the announcement that she had won the award, "I could have just fallen to my knees. It was so exciting … I'm still kind of speechless." Eartha also expressed hope that her success would inspire other musicians working outside of the musical main-stream to pursue their dreams and to keep the faith.
That's not a word Eartha uses lightly: her Christian faith is the foundation of her work and her life. As she told E. Christian Moore in Dysonna, "I understand where my help comes from and without God I couldn't do any of this." She also described her music as her ministry, and her disarmingly fun approach to music gets her in the door at many clubs and other venues that would not ordinarily showcase gospel music.
In addition to music and her faith, Eartha has a strong interest in fashion. "I love fashion," she told Moore. "I love style. I have a sense of individuality about my style and the way I dress…. It's funny because sometimes people will look at me and assume that I'm doing something else other than gospel because of [my] appearance or because of [my] clothes. Well, I'm gospel. Maybe you can't tell but that's good." Eartha also writes an advice column each month in the teen magazine Fresh.
For the Record …
Born Eartha Moore in Los Angeles, CA; daughter of Zinna (a musician) and Philip Moore. Education: Attended El Camino College and Los Angeles Trade Technical College.
Released debut album This I Know on the AFRT label, 2001; released Sidebars, also on AFRT, 2003.
Awards:
Grammy Award, Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album for Sidebars, 2003.
Addresses:
Record company—AFRT Music, P.O. Box 6590, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, phone: (310) 277-4601,
website: http://www.afrtmusic.com.
Management—Ariass Management Group (AMG), P.O. Box 6590, Beverley Hills, CA 90212.
As for the future, Eartha says that she plans to keep performing music that makes people want to dance, that brings them closer to God, and that, as she told Contemporary Musicians, helps to "encourage and … strengthen other people."
Additional information was obtained from AFRT publicity materials and telephone interviews with Eartha in June of 2003.
—Michael Belfiore ©2008 eNotes.com
Exerpts from "Eartha." Contemporary Musicians. Ed. Leigh Ann DeRemer. Vol. 44. Gale Group, Inc., 2004. eNotes.com. 2006. 2 Jan, 2008
WHOLE WORLD
Eartha Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gave you the whole world for a day
Who would you love?
Who would you save?
What would you say to me should I
Ask you to shelter your enemy
From the cold
Bear the weight of another
When there's nothing to gain
The world has treasures new
But nothing belongs to you
How do I know that you will
Keep the promises you tell?
Should I then trust that you can
Lead this whole world?
Tell me which hearts to mend should you
Carry the world's burdens in your hand
Would it be some?
Or maybe just one
If I left you alone could you
Protect the weaker man from the strong
Who would you right?
From those who were wrong?
Bear the weight of another
When there's nothing to gain
The world has treasures new
But nothing belongs to you
How do I know that you will
Keep the promises you tell?
Should I then trust that you can
Lift this whole world?
And if dark shadows follow
Can you brighten tomorrow?
Should I then trust that you could
Lead this whole world?
Eartha Kitt's song "Whole World" is a contemplative piece about the weight of responsibility that comes with power, and the difficult decisions that come with leading and caring for a whole world of people. The song starts with a question, "What would you say if I gave you the whole world for a day?" prefacing a series of challenging questions for the hypothetical leader who has been given this immense power. The song explores the themes of trust and responsibility, challenging the listener to consider whether they could handle leading and caring for an entire planet, with all of its diverse inhabitants and complex problems.
Throughout the song, there are repeated phrases that highlight the challenges of being a world leader. The lyrics "Bear the weight of another when there's nothing to gain" and "The world has treasures new, but nothing belongs to you" refer to the difficult reality of leading when there is not always a clear reward for doing so. The chorus is particularly poignant because it asks the question of whether this hypothetical leader is trustworthy and capable of taking on the monumental task of leading the world.
Line by Line Meaning
What would you say if I
Gave you the whole world for a day
Who would you love?
Who would you save?
If I granted you control of the entire world for a fleeting moment, who would you choose to love and who would you devote yourself to saving?
What would you say to me should I
Ask you to shelter your enemy
From the cold
And from the rain
If I implored you to provide a haven for your foe, shielding them from the elements and granting warmth and dryness, what would you say in response?
Bear the weight of another
When there's nothing to gain
The world has treasures new
But nothing belongs to you
Sustain and support those who rely on you, even if there is nothing to gain for yourself, for the world continually produces fresh treasures but in truth, none of it belongs to you.
How do I know that you will
Keep the promises you tell?
Should I then trust that you can
Lead this whole world?
What assurance do I have that you will follow through on the assurances you offer? Can I trust you to guide and direct the world?
Tell me which hearts to mend should you
Carry the world's burdens in your hand
Would it be some?
Or maybe just one
If you were tasked with mending broken and damaged hearts while bearing the weight of the entire world's troubles, would you choose to help just some or perhaps only one?
If I left you alone could you
Protect the weaker man from the strong
Who would you right?
From those who were wrong?
If I were to abandon you, would you be able to defend the powerless against those who are stronger? Whom would you set right, those who have been wronged?
And if dark shadows follow
Can you brighten tomorrow?
Should I then trust that you could
Lead this whole world?
When hopelessness and despair loom, can you bring light and hope to a dark tomorrow? Can I entrust you with the responsibility to steer and guide the world?
Contributed by Abigail D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.