Maya Angelou Dreamt of Bringing People Closer to God With Newly Released Posthumous Album 'Caged Bird Songs' (Video)
"Caged Bird Songs," the posthumous album that Maya Angelou recorded in the years leading up to her death, was released earlier this month, and the-late artist previously shared her hopes that the album would bring people closer to God.
The iconic poet, who died on May 28, spent the last seven years of her life working on the unique project along with producers Shawn Rivera of "Az Yet" and RoccStarr, who has worked with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Hudson.
"Caged Bird Songs" features 13 tracks that blend some of the-late author's famous poems and commentary on social issues with modern hip-hop beats. Angelou previously shared that her faith inspired the unique project, according to a press release.
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"I know that we would not have come together had it not been for the truth, that I'm a child of God. And whatever we do it will be wonderful, successful [and] it will achieve more than the three of us can imagine or either one of us could ever hope for," Angelou previously said in an AOL interview.
Angelou, who was a devout Christian, is best known for her 1969 autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which chronicles her rebellious upbringing and won her international acclaim. She was also an actress, dancer, playwright and civil rights activist who spent much of her adult life trying to make a positive difference by bringing to light various social issues.
TO READ ANGELOU'S QUOTES ABOUT FAITH AND THE BIBLE CLICK HERE
She spoke openly about the potential impact that the album would have on the world.
"There will be some young man in a warehouse someday, who feels his life has come to an end and he didn't even have the right to hope, and somehow, his eye will fall on the work that the three of us have done. We may never know his name or see his face or hear his dream, but he will be changed, enhanced, increased," Angelou said of her hopes for the album.
"Some young woman who had decided that life owed her nothing and she owed nothing, she had decided that life had no promise for her, but she'll turn on the radio or pass a car with the radio booming and it will be playing something that came out of our meeting and the young woman's eyes will open and her heart will be lifted up," Angelou added. "She may decide to turn away from the gun or the knife or the narcotic and say you know I don't think I'll do that."
Winfrey, who considered Angelou to be a mother figure in her life, will co-produce a video for one of the tracks, "Harlem Hopscotch," that will premiere later this month on the OWN network.
"People whose names we will never know, whose voices we will never hear, people whose languages we've never heard, will be better because they're being guided as children of God," Angelou said of the project.
"Caged Bird Songs" track listing below:
1. Human Family
2. Pow Pow
3. Sepia Fashion Show
4. Harlem Hopscotch
5. Pickin' Em Up
6. On Aging
7. Ain't That Bad
8. One More Round
9. Come And Be My Baby
10. The Thirteens
11. Africa
12. Life Doesn't Frighten Me
13. Still I Rise
