India.Arie is known and cherished by fans and fellow musicians as a poet, a songwriter, a producer, a musician, a singer, an advocate, a friend and a philanthropist — but she is possibly best known for the love in her music that has inspired and motivated people worldwide.
With over eight million albums sold worldwide, her most recent fourth studio album Testimony Vol. 2; Love & Politics, hit # 1 on Billboard R&B; Chart and #3 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. Praised by both the New York Times, “one of the most determinedly virtuous songwriters in R&B; or pop, India.Arie strives to make faith, goodness and positive thinking seductive,” and Oprah Winfrey for her steadfast refusal to succumb to female stereotypes that have plagued other female artists, she has also worked steadily throughout her career to champion causes close to her heart.
She has traveled to Africa numerous times to address the AIDS crisis while her songs have been used in various campaigns including “I Am Not My Hair” in Lifetime’s “Stop Breast Cancer for Life” campaign, “What About the Child” in conjunction with UNICEF events, and “There’s Hope” for the By the People, For the People; The Election of Barack Obama soundtrack where 100% of the proceeds were given to rebuilding efforts in the gulf coast.
Since the release of her first album Acoustic Soul in 2001, she has 20 received Grammy nominations and won 3 Grammy Awards, 4 NAACP Image Awards, alongside various awards from BET, Billboard, MTV, VH1, Vogue, Essence, and others. In September 2010 she was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.