Mem Nahadr

Mem Nahadr in Paris, photo by Christophe Alary

Mem Nahadr (also known as M. Nahadr and simply "M"), is an internationally acclaimed American performance artist and multi-octave vocalist best known for the performance of the song "Butterfly", composed by Yoko Kanno and lyricized by Chris Mosdell for Cowboy Bebop. She is also an author, composer, poet, filmmaker, and human rights activist.

In 2008, she presented her off-Broadway theatrical production, Madwoman: A Contemporary Opera.^[1] co-produced by James P. Nichols, and Claude E. Sloan, Jr.

Nahadr, an albinistic African-American, was requested in 2004 by National Geographic Magazine to have a portrait made of her by renowned photojournalist Robert Clark, to be included in an article on genetic inheritance, ideas of diversity and acceptance of difference. Later that year, the portrait and some of Nahadr's artistic work were included in the magazine's "Best of the Year" collection of images.^[2]

Another portrait of Nahadr travels internationally in the Positive Exposure exhibition (featuring many people with albinism and other genetic conditions) by notable fashion photographer and human rights activist Rick Guidotti. The collection was launched at the Smithsonian Institution during the Mapping of the Human Genome Celebration in 2000.

In 2009, Ms. Nahadr released her second album entitled: "EclecticIsM" internationally, to critical acclaim. AMG/Billboard gave it 4 stars, while BBC Music heralded it as "The best Soul album of the year for its challenge to the genre itself".

In 2010 Ms. Nahadr was requested by legendary poet and playwright Ntozake Shange, to compose a musical work for the soundtrack to the feature film adaptation of her iconic Broadway classic For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf. This film was released by Lions Gate Entertainment, Hollywood, CA.

Again in 2012, award winning BBC Music journalist Kevin Le Gendre included Ms. Nahadr extensively throughout his 2012 literary release: Soul Unsung - Reflections on the Band in Black Popular Music (Popular Music History).

In March 2013, Ms. Nahadr began the creation of a new Opera entitled: "FEMME FRACTALE", for the theater. James P. Nichols and Claude E. Sloan, Jr. will again support this presentation with co-production and state of the art technical and creative design. It is due to premiere at the Spring Equinox of 2014 in New York.

References

External links

• Official site, www.MemNahadr.com
• Le Gendre, Kevin (2009). "Review of M. Nahadr: EclecticIsM", BBC Music.
• Murph, John (2009). "M. Nahadr's Eclectic Artistry", TheRoot.com.