Podcast Summary: "Rhiannon Giddens Discusses 'You're the One'"

All Of It with WNYC
Host: Alison Stewart (interview), Kusha Navadar (broadcast host)
Guest: Rhiannon Giddens
Date: August 2, 2024

Episode Overview

This engaging episode of "All Of It" focuses on Rhiannon Giddens’ latest album You're the One, her first collection of all-original songs. The conversation spans Giddens’ mission-driven artistry, her approach to reinterpreting tradition, her collaboration with producer Jack Splash and Jason Isbell, and the deep personal and cultural stories that fuel her work. Giddens and Stewart explore how music and storytelling can reclaim and illuminate unseen or misunderstood aspects of American history, as well as Giddens’ evolution as both a musician and a cultural archivist.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What It Means to Be a Mission-Based Artist

• Decentering the Self:
  Giddens describes her approach:

  "I try to decenter myself in the work that I do and try to shine a light on stories that need to be told. And trying to use my platform to clarify pieces of American history that I think are being twisted in ways that are very harmful." (04:01)

• Correcting the Record:
  She shares an example:

  "It started with the banjo.... The banjo is an African derived instrument that was invented by black people in the Caribbean." (04:43)
  This realization inspired a 15-year commitment to correcting how American musical history is presented.

2. Curiosity Leading the Artistic Mission

• Giddens describes following "where curiosity leads me"—reading, researching, and uncovering new stories.
• She tells the story of being introduced to Omar Ibn Said by Spoleto Festival, prompting her to write an opera about his overlooked story. (05:09–05:42)

3. The Genesis of 'You're the One'

• Unlike prior “mission-based” albums, these songs were long-held personal works that didn't fit previous projects.
• Giddens reflects on the emotional labor of her previous albums and the desire to "explore other sides" of her artistry.

  "These songs ... they didn't fit on the other mission based records. They were just waiting. And I said, well, it's time." (05:57)

4. Empowering Narratives & Themes

• Strong women are central to her songwriting:

  "[My songs] need to end with a woman ... getting her own strength together… I never want the woman on the floor at the end ... they need to be walking away." (07:30–08:11)

• The intention is always to find triumph or strength, even in songs about failed relationships.

5. Song Spotlight – "You're the One"

• Written after the birth of her second child, Giddens discusses postpartum depression and how this song reflects newfound emotional clarity:

  "...Going from the grays of that kind of fog and haze into a new Technicolor world. Like, that's how I felt." (08:24)

• [09:44–10:40]: Clip plays, emphasizing the song’s warmth and renewal.

6. Finding Her Voice Within Different Genres

• Transition from opera to folk/roots and now including pop sounds.
• Giddens explains,

  "My voice has definitely developed ... but I've always been interested in having all of these styles live together because they come out of the same ... American sort of cultural well." (11:03–12:29)

7. Collaboration with Jack Splash

• Chose Splash for his ability to blend sounds but also respect her acoustic roots:

  "...it wasn't either all the way over to my side or over to his side. It was like we found this organic sort of middle place..." (12:32)

• Recorded live in-studio with musicians from both camps to achieve an organic sound:

  "...we were like, oh, this is a sound. This is a thing. And we could have only done that live." (13:07–13:48)

8. Working with Jason Isbell on "Yet to Be"

• Chose Isbell for authenticity and shared values:

  "He's walking the walk and he's living his life in the way that I admire ... life's too short to be working with posers." (14:05–14:54)

• The song, about an interracial couple, needed "another voice ... to create that narrative of two voices coming together."

9. Pivotal Career Choices: Leaving Opera for Folk & Storytelling

• Giddens recounts leaving opera and meeting Joe Thompson, a Black fiddler, as transformational:

  "...being able to start my whole acoustic career with that as its centerpiece was really important ... it just set everything in the right place to survive in the music industry..." (17:03–18:48)

• This rooted her work squarely in purpose and narrative over mere performance.

10. Reflecting on Others Singing Her Songs

• Finds delight and inspiration hearing others interpret her work; hopes for new covers by other artists as her repertoire expands. (18:48–19:16)

11. Songwriting as Activism: "Another Wasted Life"

• Written in response to the tragic case of Kalief Browder and solitary confinement:

  "Those are the things that really made me just ... furious, grief-stricken, all of the things. And I wrote the song right after I heard about the story..." (19:37)

• The song serves as the album’s “mission” centerpiece and is connected with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. (22:01)

12. Celebrating Female Pleasure: "You Put the Sugar in My Bowl"

• An homage to double entendre songs of the 1920s, cheeky and proudly about women’s pleasure:

  "It's homage to all those double entendre songs ... where they were just, like, saying it and saying it." (22:25–22:33)

• Alison Stewart jokes:

  "That song just, like, comes with a feather boa." (23:42)

• Giddens embraces both persona and deep authenticity:

  "It doesn't matter… when I'm singing that song, I am that person … it is a part of me because I couldn't have written it otherwise." (23:56)

13. Recording "Louisiana Man" Together—Organic Musicianship

• Giddens explains the joy of recording live, with musicians finding their groove together:

  "All together, playing, figuring each other out and smiling like lunatics. It was so fun." (24:15)

Notable Quotes

• On her mission:

  "Who's best interest is it that I don't know about the banjo’s African roots? That's kind of driven me for the last 15 years." (04:43)

• On why she collaborates only with genuine people:

  "Life's too short to work with posers." (15:09)

• On centering Black traditions in her work:

  “I ceased being a vocalist... and I turned into, you know, an instrumentalist and a storyteller, you know, down this path. And I’m so grateful, so grateful.” (18:43)

• On representing strong women:

  “I never want the woman on the floor at the end of any of these songs, you know, they need to be walking away...” (08:11)

Key Timestamps

• 04:01 — Giddens on being a "mission-based artist"
• 04:43 — Realization about the banjo's true history
• 05:09–05:42 — Curiosity as artistic driver and story of Omar Ibn Said opera
• 05:57–06:48 — Songs held for You're the One and the need for creative expansion
• 07:30–08:11 — Writing empowered female characters
• 08:24 — Story behind "You're the One"
• 09:44–10:40 — Clip: "You're the One"
• 11:03–12:29 — Vocal approach and blending genres
• 12:32–13:48 — Working with Jack Splash and recording live
• 14:05–14:54 — Jason Isbell collaboration
• 17:03–18:48 — Leaving opera, meeting Joe Thompson, and focusing on story
• 19:37–20:14 — Writing "Another Wasted Life" (Kalief Browder)
• 22:25–22:33 — Double entendre and empowerment in "Sugar in My Bowl"
• 24:15 — Joy of in-studio collaboration

Memorable Moments

• The candid revelation of how mental health affected her motherhood and songwriting in "You're the One"
• Stewart and Giddens' banter about feather boas and strong women
• Giddens’ unwavering stance on only working with authentic artists: “Life's too short to work with posers.”
• The emotional weight and activism fueling "Another Wasted Life"
• The live-in-the-room energy of "Louisiana Man" with 13 musicians jointly "smiling like lunatics"

Final Thoughts

Rhiannon Giddens’ episode is an inspiring exploration of artistic purpose, personal storytelling, and the re-centering of lost or misrepresented histories. Her ability to blend genres, her deep commitment to cultural truth, and her joyful, humorous approach make this conversation rich, emotional, and deeply human.

For more:

• Rhiannon Giddens’ You’re the One is available on streaming platforms.
• Learn more about the Public Song Project at wnyc.org/publicsongproject.
• See her upcoming performance at the Venetian Theater at Caramore in Katona, NY.