{"id":1972128,"date":"2025-08-21T10:59:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T10:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1972128"},"modified":"2025-08-21T10:59:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T10:59:14","slug":"why-kirby-chose-to-embrace-mississippi-roots-when-making-new-album-miss-black-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/why-kirby-chose-to-embrace-mississippi-roots-when-making-new-album-miss-black-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Why KIRBY chose to embrace Mississippi roots when making new album, &#8216;Miss Black America&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">For Memphis-born, Mississippi-bred musician Kirby Lauryen Dockery, the last decade has seen her songs and determination bring her to an exalted place in the music business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The 36 year-old KIRBY \u2014 as she\u2019s known professionally \u2014 has been hailed by global icons like Elton John (who predicted she was destined for greatness) and had her songs cut by a who\u2019s who of the world\u2019s biggest hip-hop, pop and rock stars, with tracks like Rihanna,\u00a0Kanye West\u00a0and\u00a0Paul McCartney&#8217;s &#8220;FourFiveSeconds,&#8221;\u00a0Beyonc\u00e9&#8217;s &#8220;Die With You\u201d and\u00a0Ariana Grande&#8217;s &#8220;Break Your Heart Right Back.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She has also released several solo projects in that time, but with her latest, \u201cMiss Black America\u201d (out Aug. 29), she\u2019s digging deep into a personal and cultural experience. An ambitious concept album, KIRBY describes it as a record \u201cabout growing up in Mississippi and understanding how the fight of your ancestors, the love of your family, the blood on the land and the joy of the Sunday choir shaped how you see the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>A decade after breaking through as a successful songwriter, Mid-South native KIRBY is releasing a deeply personal solo LP titled &#8220;Miss Black America.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Though she still maintains a residence in Brooklyn, for most of 2025 KIRBY has been back living and working in North Mississippi. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to do this project as an outsider,\u201d KIRBY says. \u201cI&#8217;ve been here since February, and it&#8217;s been quite rewarding to be here and create.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cMississippi has always been a place where I&#8217;m from, but I just never carried a flag of pride about it. It might be because for most of my life, somebody was flying the Confederate flag in our [faces].\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But sparked by the passing of her grandmother, KIRBY began to reconsider her relationship to the state. \u201cIt boils down to family,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd all of my family is here. So I had to reframe Mississippi from being a place that I left, to a land that\u2019s good, a land that\u2019s mine. It became a question of, \u2018How do I cultivate and honor where I come from?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Songwriting success opens door to career as solo artist<\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After attending the Stax Music Academy in Memphis, KIRBY went to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music. She eventually dropped out and moved to Atlanta in 2009, when a personal tragedy reshaped her life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cMy first love from college ended up getting killed in a car accident,\u201d she says. \u201cThat shook my world completely. When that happened, I came back to Mississippi, quite depressed. I was still very much in grief.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It was at this personal low point when she refocused on music. She became determined to write and record and upload a new song to the internet each day, and began reaching out to industry figures, looking for a break. \u201cI would tweet at people,\u201d she says, \u201cI would write people. I would message people from ASCAP and BMI and Universal. I was hustling and I had no shame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Eventually that persistence paid off as she got her songs in front of an executive at Roc Nation, which signed her to a publishing deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>MEMPHIS MUSIC: <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/stax-star-rock-n-roll-191035510.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:From Stax star to 'Rock 'n' Roll Granny,' see Memphis Music Hall of Fame's class of 2025;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">From Stax star to &#8216;Rock &#8216;n&#8217; Roll Granny,&#8217; see Memphis Music Hall of Fame&#8217;s class of 2025<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">She admits her first year navigating the world of professional songwriting and cold collaborations was a challenge. \u201cI had been a bedroom songwriter,\u201d she says. \u201cI wrote by myself. I wrote on my little piano. And suddenly they were throwing me into rooms with celebrities. And I was like, \u2018What do you want me to do?&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Quickly, though, KIRBY found her way working with artists like Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Brandy and Timbaland, and eventually got her work cut by the likes of Beyonc\u00e9 and Ariana Grande. Her songwriting success also opened doors to a career as a solo artist, as she released a series of singles, a pair of EPs and her full-length debut, &#8220;Sis. He Wasn&#8217;t the One,&#8221; in 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The spark for \u201cMiss Black America\u201d came soon after, when she was asked to contribute a song to the ABC limited series \u201cWomen of the Movement,\u201d honoring Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of slain Civil Rights martyr Emmett Till. The resulting track, \u201cBlack Leaves,\u201d became a viral and streaming hit, and pushed KIRBY to follow its thematic trail home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI think that song brought me back to my roots,\u201d she says. \u201cMy life has always pointed me to the Southern Black experience. When I sing about things that are tender to my heart regarding the South and Black American culture, people resonate with that more. And so, I just leaned into what was working.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>ROCK HALL ROLL CALL: <\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/rock-hall-roll-call-memphis-100235725.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:What Memphis artists have been enshrined in Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame?;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">What Memphis artists have been enshrined in Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">The making of &#8216;Miss Black America&#8217;<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"The cover of KIRBY's second full-length album, &quot;Miss Black America.&quot;\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"960\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/hUs8BmSiw7r_DeB.pi7p9A--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk2MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/the-commercial-appeal\/5c068831b46dfbae0d5c269b76118578\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>The cover of KIRBY&#8217;s second full-length album, &#8220;Miss Black America.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">KIRBY began work on \u201cMiss Black America\u201d in earnest in 2022 with producers Thomas Brenneck\u00a0(Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones) and\u00a0Homer Steinweiss\u00a0(Amy Winehouse, Lee Fields). The songs would eventually come to include collaborations with fellow Mississippians, hip-hop-soul musician Akeem Ali and rapper Big K.R.I.T. KIRBY says she was especially inspired by the raw soul of artists like Mavis Staples and Bill Withers in shaping the project.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI just wanted to find like the grittiest sound,\u201d she notes. &#8220;I wanted a sound as close to what I grew up on at Pleasant Grove Community Church, where we would have something called the moaning bench, where people would moan and hum, that really powerful kind of a cappella singing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWe just leaned in and allowed the record to be what it was. I didn&#8217;t try to make it perfect. I kind of hate this reference, but when you hear the intro of the album, it sounds like your ancestors singing in the field, really and truly. And so we took it all the way to that place.\u201d (As part of the project, KIRBY has been releasing a series of videos that she describes as an \u201caudiovisual experience of the Mississippi Delta, and a love letter to the rural South.&#8221;)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"KIRBY describes her new album, &quot;Miss Black America,&quot; as a record about &quot;how the fight of your ancestors, the love of your family, the blood on the land and the joy of the Sunday choir shaped how you see the world.\u201d\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"1344\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/Veh7W1.C48H6ieBhhxkAPw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTEzNDQ7Y2Y9d2VicA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/the-commercial-appeal\/ee7c65cb8c609f0737cc254336f21df9\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>KIRBY describes her new album, &#8220;Miss Black America,&#8221; as a record about &#8220;how the fight of your ancestors, the love of your family, the blood on the land and the joy of the Sunday choir shaped how you see the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">With the release of the album, KIRBY is working toward finding a balance between being an up-and-coming solo artist and successful professional songwriter. \u201cIn a perfect world, I would love to say I can do both,\u201d she said. \u201cThere&#8217;s no way I really could have been able to have a sustainable life financially had I not had the songwriting success I\u2019ve had. There\u2019s no streaming check for an artist that will compare to having a radio hit as a songwriter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Professionally, KIRBY has also branched out, voicing the pop star Ni\u2019jah in Donald Glover and Janine Nabers&#8217; Amazon Prime Video series\u00a0\u201cSwarm.\u201d \u201cI want a career that is sustainable and provides financially, but that also allows me to be 100% authentic to myself,\u201d says KIRBY, who noted that will come by serving her audience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI&#8217;ve never liked the word fans, but as an artist your career is supported by the people who listen to your work. I have a loyal, intimate and very personal fan base that loves my music. I want to feel like I&#8217;ve given them something so timeless that they\u2019ll always want to listen. That\u2019s really the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialappeal.com\/story\/entertainment\/music\/2025\/08\/21\/new-music-kirby-miss-black-america\/84351808007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:KIRBY's 'Miss Black America': The story behind the new album;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">KIRBY&#8217;s &#8216;Miss Black America&#8217;: The story behind the new album<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For Memphis-born, Mississippi-bred musician Kirby Lauryen Dockery, the last decade has seen her songs and determination bring her to an exalted place in the music business. The 36 year-old KIRBY \u2014 as she\u2019s known professionally \u2014 has been hailed by global icons like Elton John (who predicted she was destined for greatness) and had her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1972129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[24076,348864,351185,345130,351186,351187],"class_list":["post-1972128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-ariana-grande","tag-kirby","tag-miss-black-america","tag-mississippi","tag-solo-artist","tag-songwriting-success"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Why-KIRBY-chose-to-embrace-Mississippi-roots-when-making-new.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1972128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1972129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1972128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1972128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1972128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}