Gigi Harville Spreads Her Ghetto Butterfly Wings: R&B, Soul Singer About to Release Her First Album
On top of the incredibly danceable beat, the kind where all higher nerve activity shuts off and the body is compulsively drawn to bounce up and down, making furtive gestures with the arms as if programmed from the cellular memory of some tribal, jungle dance- Gigi builds vocal layers that speak from the perfection and beauty of the heart’s fantasies to the displaced incompatibilities of reality.
Between the pleading chorus of Gigi singing “You and I” in ever more engaging keys is a sung verse referring to a falling out with some former lover. It is a love built of lies that both sides believe, but in the end truth intercedes. Yet Gigi doesn’t take the stance of the victim, her masterful singing and lucid lyrics portray a shining example of feminine strength, even invoking the immortal line: Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive.”
Gigi Harville’s been working in the music business over eleven years, and her dedication has been increasingly rewarding her with renown. She hails from the South, with connects in the North, but she began the latest course of her career in LA, signing up with Lo-Down Entertainment. An independent label with healthy aspirations, they’ve promoted Gigi as their rising star, and she certainly has the talent to go far.
This is hardly Gigi’s first contact with the music industry. Throughout her career she has had the pleasure to work with some of the greats. She was chosen as one of the top five girls out of 200 in a background dancer competition hosted by local Los Angeles DJ Brian McKnight, as well as touring and even appearing as a dancer on MTV. For two years she sang lead vocals in the duo “KraziBeautiful”, with her friend and colleague NeCee Wilson.
She eventually left to pursue a solo career, but Wilson was also signed by Lo-Down, so they will no doubt have the opportunity to work together again. Playing from San Francisco Bay to San Diego, Houston, New Orleans, the Sunkist Soda Sunlab Tour, the National Boxing Association, the House of Blues, the Knitting Factory, as well as many local events and fundraisers, she has repeatedly demonstrated her appeal as a performer and recording artist, and is well on her way to her goal of becoming a household name.
Now she’s about to get her record on the shelves, titled “Butterfly In the Ghetto,” and scheduled for a late summer, early fall 2006 release. Lo-Down has the tour bus prepped and geared to go and, awaiting the final line-up, they will soon be embarking on their grand tour. Hopefully they will spin through Long Island so we can hear more of what’s in store from Gigi and the Lo-Down crew. Currently, Ms. Harville is engaged in another creative project entitled “Boku,” a mixture of hip-hop and live band. Here is another opportunity for to Gigi to shine as a singer and rapper, and push those butterfly wings a little higher.
