There are not enough words to describe the woman I recently interviewed for Mela. Her strength is immeasurable, and just like anybody else she comes with a past - a past she cannot forget or deny. Yet she forgives. She gets her strength from her maker along with the humility and spirituality that she has gained from her many life experiences thus far.
Her name is Koré (warrior) Zoua (the wise lady) Baldwin. Koré was born in Cocody, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on the west coast of Africa (the country is pronounced kot divwar/in International French and in English is Ivory Coast). She is the youngest of ten children. She came to this country at age 16, and attended Watertown High School in Massachusetts. At first she lived at her sister’s home. Her sister’s authoritarian style did not work for her, so she sought shelter with a kind and caring Jewish family. Ms. Bryna Leeder, a Watertown High School ESL teacher and her mother, Beatrice Leeder, were greatly concerned when Koré’s situation started to sour. They took her in temporarily and helped her get back on her feet.. This family exposed her to their Jewish culture. Koré claimed, “We celebrated a few Jewish holidays together at the dinner table in a very laid-back manner and this helped me appreciate another culture and be more open-minded to a whole variety of things.”
Koré decided after a while that she wanted to be more independent, so she struck out on her own. There were more troubles to come. Sadly, she lost her older brother Armel through cancer. This sister has taken some hard blows from life but in spite of it all she never gave up hope because she knew that her life had not yet begun.
Even though she has not “made it” yet, her music career is slowly taking off. This sister can sing! She has the talent, and in my opinion, she is going to be a great success.
Koré started singing at age 12. She was a back-up singer and hand percussionist at her sister Stephanie’a evangelical church back in Abidjan. Koré did not know she had musical talent until people heard her sing and were convinced. She is also a songwriter, poet and drum player. You can sample some of her recordings onmyspace/cambridgekore or myspace.com/korevanbaldwin. In addition, over the last ten years she has sung locally with different groups in various settings throughout the Cambridge-Boston area,
Koré describes her music as Rugged-Soul, a mix of Roots-Reggae and Folky-Soul with some sprinkles of trip-hop. Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Moloko, Portishead, Stevie Wonder, Miriam Makeba, Morcheeba, Sting, Alpha Blondy and Meiway are some of the legends who have influenced her musically. She relates to them because they sing and perform from the heart and leave their audiences with undeniably moving messages.
Koré’s dreams are immeasurable. She hopes to get either a touring and/or record contract that will allow her to travel around the world and share her musical visions. I asked her what she can change if given a chance and how she would go about implementing those changes. Her inspiration comes from courageous people who want to make change happen and contribute towards bettering the world, such as Nelson Mandela, the Dali Lama, Desmond Tutu, John and Carrie Schuchardt, Veterans for peace at the house of peace in Ipswich MA, Oprah Winfrey and Bono.
Koré expressed a desire to work on her visual arts aspirations, and she is planning a collaborative exhibition of black inventors. She would like the general public to have the opportunity to be exposed to documents and awards that represent a piece of history not often mentioned in today’s history books. She is aware that some African and African-American children don’t realize that people of color have contributed a lot to this modern world.
This sister is all about worldwide human rights movements. One of her dreams is to organize an African tour concert with a few other African-born artists and musical friends and if possible play at an international festival. She would like the money to be used in fighting against various diseases such as malaria, and HIV/AIDS, as well as domestic violence, poverty and educational issues.
Koré’s music is the truth, her own truth. She says she doesn’t want her upcoming album, “The One-Love Continium Vol. 1” to be described as “in your face or overly political”, and she hopes people will respond with sensitivity. Watch out for Koré because this sister is one who is going places no matter what!
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