An “Angel In The Dark”: Judith Hill at The Sayers Club

For any fan of Michael Jackson who witnessed Judith Hill perform in front of billions of people worldwide at his memorial, Judith Hill made the world sit up and take notice. Garnering a new audience on NBC’s “The Voice”, Judith Hill next joined forces with another music legend, co-producer Prince to release her debut album ‘Back In Time’ recently. Those in the #PurpleArmy who follow Prince on Twitter were offered an opportunity to download the album early when Prince gave it away a few months ago. I was one of those lucky ones who copped the blues and funk-filled album then but bought another copy because it’s THAT good.

Much in the spirit of most Prince jams which start way past midnight and involve the whole crowd getting down with reckless abandon, Minneapolis’ DJ Dudley D got Judith’s album listening party on Friday night officially started by playing cuts off Judith’s ‘Back In Time’, Prince’s recent album ‘HitnRun’, while interspersing classics by Stevie, Gap Band and Parliament Funkadelic. Attending this album release party late into the night, I was the one “20 feet away from stardom” and witnessed Judith footstomp after kicking off her shoes, clap and fill the Sayers Club intimate venue with her powerful voice and expert piano prowess. Performing a mini-set of songs like uplifting “Angel In the Dark”, gut-wrenching “Cry, Cry, Cry” and a whimsical cover of Willy Wonka’s “Pure Imagination”, the lady sang the blues and it’s confirmed as far as dope performers go, she’s “my people”.