When this little cutie-patootie was a youngin,’ she was growing up in a household with a famous daddy, in a well-off neighborhood. Little did she know at the time, she would grow up to become famous with a well-off lifestyle and career of her own, too. Although, given her family background, it was only natural for her to use her talents to impact the world…especially the world of R&B, or as some call her particular style of music, the world of ‘neo-soul’ R&B.
Random side note: I’ve grown to despise the term, ‘neo soul artist.’ In the beginning it was cool, but now it’s putting seasoned artists, like Erykah Badu, Kindred and the Family Soul, Lalah Hathaway, Dwele, Bilal, and so many more, inside of a small box, as if they’re not worthy of being heard by the masses. So, for the duration of this article I’ll refer to the little girl in the above pic, simply as an R&B artist. Moving on…
Who Is She?
ILOSM fam,’ if you guessed that the adorable little girl is the one and only India.Arie, then you were right. Pretty sure now that you’re looking at her baby pic, it’s easy to see, because she looks the same today. Since we love us some India.Arie, before we show you who her famous father is, we must share one of our favorite India.Arie performances/renditions – “Wonderful (Stevie Wonder tribute)” (scroll down to meet her Pops)…
Who’s India Arie’s Famous Daddy?
For those of you who are still wondering who her famous Pops is, here’s the info we reported on him a while back: The beautiful India.Arie is her Dad’s twin, no doubt about it, and she credits both of her parents’ love of soul music for shaping her musical gifts as a child.
Her Pops is a legendary retired NBA and ABA (American Basketball Association) player, by the name of Ralph Simpson. He’s considered a true legend in the game and played against many other old school NBA legends, including Julius “Dr. J” Irving and the late Moses Malone.
Simpson’s basketball career spanned from 1970 to 1980. He was a force to be reckoned with and scored the most points in the entire history of the ABA, when he played for the Denver Rockets (which later became the Denver Nuggets). He also played in five ABA All Star games. After the ABA merged with the NBA, Simpson joined the Detroit Pistons, retiring in 1980.
India Arie’s parents, Joyce and Ralph Simpson, divorced in the mid-80’s. Joyce is now India’s stylist. Her dad is now a minister. This year (2016) India’s Pops was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. In 2016 the now 71 year old was inducted into the CSHOF, check out is acceptance speech below…
So as y’all can see, India.Arie comes from a long line of talented people…by the way, her mother can sing just like her.
