Judith Hill: My story as told to Elisabeth Easther

Grammy-award winning soul singer Judith Hill.

Judith Hill is a Grammy-Award-winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who wrote her first song aged 4. Since then she has soared to incredible heights as a backup singer and a solo artist, and has worked with music icons Prince, Michael Jackson, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. Judith Hill and her band, which includes her parents, will be a highlight of this year’s Auckland Arts Festival, playing The Spiegeltent, March 18 and 19.

I was a bit of a shy kid, quite quiet, although I grew up in a very musical family, as both my parents were professional musicians. Mom and dad had a studio at our home, and they also had an amazing network of musician friends who were always around at our house in Los Angeles. Being surrounded by incredible musicians and singers was inspiring, but it was also intimidating, so I became more of an observer, a sponge, soaking it all up.

I learned a lot from my parents. Dad was Billy Preston’s bass player, and people like Rose and Freddie Stone from Sly and The Family Stone were always at our place, and I just thought that was normal. It wasn’t till later that I realised how unique it was. Mom was also a piano teacher, so we’d put these little kid bands together and have jams. Church was a big part of it too. Rose Stone had a gospel choir and although I was too young to be in it, I went to rehearsals every Monday night. I learned so much from going to choir practice.

Being a scared kid, I wasn’t sure I would pursue a life in music, even though it was what I wanted to do. I also didn’t think I was good enough, and it wasn’t till junior high, around 15, that I fell in love with music on my own terms and that’s when I realised there was nothing else I wanted to do, because music was my true love.

I was often thrown into “hot water” situations. People would say “get up there and sing Judith”, which was terrifying and uncomfortable, but it was also incredibly good for me, because that’s how I grew as an artist. Then it was just a matter of staying in the game and keeping at it, until one day I woke up and I liked how my voice sounded. It was as if I’d been on training wheels, and when they came off, things took shape and I started to enjoy the ride.

Faith is a big part of my life, and besides soul and funk, I grew up on gospel music. That’s real ground zero energy, the whole mountain top experience, and it was through gospel that I really learned how to connect the voice with that spiritual energy. Gospel singers are so powerful and singing from that spiritual place is a big part of what drives me.

I wrote music from an early age, and I was constantly developing my pen, but I knew I also needed to educate myself, so I got a degree in music composition from Biola University, where I learned to write for orchestras and symphonies. Then, after graduating, I connected with the business side of things by getting into the scene, doing studio sessions and background gigs. I was still a songwriter, but those experiences helped me connect with a wider variety of people and get my feet wet as a singer.

After college, my first really big gig was a tour singing backup for Michel Polnareff, a famous French artist. Our homebase was Paris, and living there was my first experience of the big wide world, because I was pretty sheltered in LA. Paris was a rite of passage, an inspiring, artistic journey. I’d wander around that city, soaking it all up, the sounds and images, the music and people. At first it was overwhelming, but Paris was great for shaking my bones, because I’d lived in a bubble till then, and Paris burst that bubble and it’s where I became an adult.

The scale of the venues in France was also daunting. I’d always sung in churches or small clubs, so to walk onstage and hear the roar of so many people, that was terrifying, I’d never experienced that many people in an audience.

I also loved how people in Paris know how to stop and smell the flowers, to appreciate art and food and conversation - whereas Americans can be all hustle and grind, fixated on our career aspirations, so to see people enjoying life was a beautiful thing. Paris allowed me to take a deep breath and view the world in a different way.

Tragedy has also shaped my identity, especially over the last few years, but it wasn’t until recently that I felt unafraid to speak about those things, to connect with people on a more visceral level. But I really delve into that territory with the record I’m releasing later this year. Pain is a huge access point for digging deep into the soulfulness of my music. These songs connect with deep emotions and use music as a tool for healing, inspiration and empowerment. But it wasn’t till recently that I’ve learned speak more honestly about traumatic things, which creates a more powerful musical experience.

Judith Hill will perform at this year's Auckland Arts Festival.

When I was about to go on tour with Michael Jackson, I was thrown into an incredible community of musicians, singers and dancers. We became very close and we absolutely adored Michael because he inspired us in so many ways. To see him show up at rehearsals, his energy was so powerful. Having grown up with gospel and jazz, Michael Jackson was my first experience of the power of pop, and how he would transcend the room. He united people with his message and took music to such heights. As a young musician, for me to experience that energy, and how he gave so much to the world, it was eye-opening. So when he passed away, right in the middle of rehearsals for that tour, it was traumatic and I had to manoeuvre through some really dark and difficult times.

Paisley Park became my second home when Prince rescued me from the mainstream record label experience. I was being thrown into rooms with different A&R teams who’d say, “let’s get a hit on the radio! Let’s chase the carrot! Let’s make the money!” That is the music industry beast, but I struggled with it. Then Prince came into my life in a very timely and random fashion. I’d given an interview where I said it would be awesome to collaborate with Prince, but never in a million years did I think it would happen. Only he heard that interview, and he reached out. Long story short, I went to Paisley Park and we recharged the songs I was already working on and he produced my first record. He brought me back to my roots and I learned so much from him. Losing Prince was the hardest loss for me, because he was my mentor, but I’ll be forever grateful to him.

It’s exhilarating to sing with other powerful singers. There is an energy when you do a duet or sing harmony with another incredible voice. It’s like fireworks, and singers adapt to each other’s energy which is partly why music is so very connective. Like singing with Prince. He was so funky, and the notes he chose. He had a way of just floating around and finding the sound. That was his way of loosening things up and why singing with him was such a wild ride.

As a woman of faith, I turn to God and prayer for solace. Counselling has also helped, because it’s easy to get lost in your emotions, to the point you don’t know where to start working your way through them. My counsellor also helped me understand my relationship with myself and I now have tools to deal with all my feelings, including shame and fear. Writing music has also been healing, but I’m still a work in progress. This is a life-long journey.

Much of the time today, music and culture is used as a tool to zone out, to become distracted, but when I make music, I want people to zone in. I want people to access pain, and to feel elevated and transcendent. I want my music to trigger people to feel inspired. I’m all about digging deep, about challenging myself and my audience, so together we can collaborate and address the unseen spiritual world. I want to create experiences where people really feel something, so it’s not just audience and performer, instead it’s this deep dialogue that happens within the concert space, the creation of a whole new paradigm of concert-making, because music can be so much more than just entertainment.

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