India.Arie is in an Empire State of mind with "6th Avenue," her new song that she debuted on Black Girls Rock!, which aired last night on BET. The brainchild of DJ Beverly Bond is consistently one of the finer award shows to grace the airwaves at BET and this year's telecast was no exception. Tracee Ellis Ross and Regina King were the hostesses with the most (as opposed to doing the most) during a night that honored fellow actress Kerry Washington; soul superstars Dionne Warwick, Janelle Monáe and Alicia Keys; writer Susan L. Taylor; social humanitarian Dr. Hawa Abdi and her daughters and other young women making a difference in their communities. In between the awards being handed out, the BGR audience was treated to musical performances by honoree Keys, Brandy, Keyshia Cole, Ciara, Missy Elliott, SWV and the first all-male showing on Black Girls Rock! by Luke James, Eric Benét and Anthony Hamilton, who all showed up and showed out. But it was India.Arie whose performance I found to be the most poignant of the evening. The song "6th Avenue" is a love letter to New York City set to music and given the natural disaster left behind by Hurricane Sandy in the NYC area, it was especially moving. Plus it was just good to see Arie in action again, strumming away on her guitar and even breaking out with a flute. I loved every minute of this and am now eagerly anticipating India.Arie's next album with this song leading the way.
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