Mem Nahadr ( ), also known as M. Nahadr and simply "M", is an American performance artist and multi-octave vocalist having access to the whistle register and best known for the performance of the song "Butterfly", composed by Yoko Kanno and lyricized by Chris Mosdell for Cowboy Bebop. In the recording studio, Nahadr writes, records, performs, and produces all of each project's music. She is co-produced by Grammy Award Winner, James P. Nichols. She is also an author, composer, poet, filmmaker, and human rights activist.
Early life
Mem Nahadr was born with the genetic condition known as albinism from African American parents. Her parents discovered her love and natural understanding of music during a parent/teacher meeting at the age of five. She was discovered creating coherent improvised passages from her own imagination, on the class piano as the meeting was held at the opposite end of the classroom.
Career
In 1999, Mem Nahadr created a music label to promoted her music and protect her interests. She named this company MADWOMAN MULTIMEDIA, as an acquaintance once commented, "You always work like a Madwoman!". She is the sole artist on this label.
In 2008, she presented her first off-Broadway theatrical production, Madwoman: A Contemporary Opera."Madwoman: A Contemporary Opera ", Lortel Archives. co-produced by Grammy winner James P. Nichols, and Harvard LOEB Theater director, Claude E. Sloan, Jr.
Nahadr, being an albinistic African American, was requested in 2004 by National Geographic Magazine to have a portrait made of her by renowned photojournalist Robert Clark, to be included in an article on genetic inheritance, ideas of diversity and acceptance of difference. Later that year, the portrait and some of Nahadr's artistic work were included in the magazine's "Best of the Year" collection of images.(2004). "Tracking the Evolution Story", pp. 13–14. National Geographic Magazine.
Another portrait of Nahadr travels internationally in the Positive Exposure exhibition (featuring many people with albinism and other genetic conditions) by notable fashion photographer and human rights activist Rick Guidotti. The collection was launched at the Smithsonian Institution during the Mapping of the Human Genome Celebration in 2000.
In 2009, Nahadr released her fifth studio album entitled EclecticIsM internationally, to critical acclaim. AMG/Billboard gave it 4 stars, while BBC Music presenter Kevin Le Gendre called it "The soul album of the year for its challenge to the genre itself".
In 2010, Nahadr was asked by legendary poet and playwright Ntozake Shange to compose a musical work for the soundtrack to the feature film adaptation of her iconic Broadway classic For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf. This film was released by Lionsgate Entertainment, Hollywood, California.
Award-winning journalist Kevin Le Gendre included Nahadr extensively in his 2012 book Soul Unsung: Reflections on the Band in Black Popular Music.
Also in 2012, Nahadr embarked on a worldwide pilgrimage in order to study sound and healing techniques worldwide, from the U.S. through Europe to Asia. The project was entitled, LoM.
In March 2013, Nahadr began the creation of a new opera entitled FEMME FRACTALE - An Opera of Reflection, for the theater. James P. Nichols and Claude E. Sloan, Jr supported this presentation with co-production and state-of-the-art technical and creative design.
In April 2015, the second opus of her operatic work FEMME FRACTALE was released in audio form and began to be performed in theaters internationally again to critical acclaim. James Nadal from All About Jazz stated: "This record pushes the boundaries of where vocalization can go. This aptly named 'Opera of Reflection' is a determined and energetic project, depicting how positive energy can be channeled into music that is palatable yet vanguard, and realized with a cosmic message of confidence. Mem Nahadr is very much the modern woman who is savoring her role as a visionary artist, creating futuristic music for a contemporary audience that appreciates the effort it takes to accomplish something so imaginative."
In 2017, the third opus entitled FEMME FRACTALE 432 - An Opera of Reflection - The Celestial Resonance Opus 3 was submitted to The Recording Academy for Grammy consideration, and made the voting ballot in 13 categories over five musical genres.
Also in 2017, the aforementioned project on healing techniques through sound, entitled LoM was inevitably released.
In 2019, Nahadr began work on her third opera. This new work is entitled M.E.M. - "Mon Electro-Magnetisme": An Opera on Attraction.
Discography Albums 1999: Madwoman: A Contemporary Opera 2012: Eclecticism 432 2015: Femme Fractale: An Opera of Reflection 2017: FF 432 - An Opera of Reflection... The Celestial Resonance OPUS 3 2017: LoM 528 - GOLD 2024: Mon Elextro-Magnetisme: An Opera on Attraction Singles 2010: I Found God In Myself - Ntozake's Song 2012: The Underground Aria 432 - CLUB MIX 2024: Another Like Me - from the Soundtrack of the Motion Picture "Indelible" 2024: M's Butterfly - Remix from the Soundtrack of the Motion Picture "Cowboy Bebop"
Album appearances Album Year Artist(s) Record Label "C'est Fou" 1997 Le Collage Worldly Vibe "Simple... Isn't It?" 2003 Earth People Undivided Vision Records "Mem" 2008 Mem Mewai "Two The Top" 2017 Onaje Alan Gumbs - featuring Mem Nahadr Commercial Free Jazz "Samsonite Gypsies" 2018 Samsonite Gypsies SG Records
Theatre Year Show Role Theater 2008 Madwoman: A Contemporary Opera ! The Madwoman Nuyorican Poets Cafe August - October 2008 2015 Femme Fractale - An Opera of Reflection ! Femme UForge Gallery October 2015
Filmography YearFilmRoleTitle2001Cowboy Bebop: The MoviePerformer"Butterfly"2010For Colored GirlsProducer - Composer - Performer"I Found God In Myself - Ntozake's Song"2014IndelibleComposer - Performer"Another Like Me"2016Javelin: Soul MiningActressMs Lloyd
References
External links Official site, www.MemNahadr.com
Murph, John (2009). " M. Nahadr's Eclectic Artistry", TheRoot.com.