Song Reflections - Jeremiah Ince

Hello! My name is Jeremiah Ince and I am a rapper/producer/songwriter out of the DMV area and this was my second music residency here! I grew up in Maryland for most of my life, then I moved to DC and have resided there for the past 5 years. Last year I did a song called “AT THE FAIR" (if you haven’t listened, you should check it out!) This year I stayed for two weeks in order to create two songs about black life in Indy. The first song I made is based on the Black Joy Festival that happened at Riverside Park during the weekend of July 9th. It was such an amazing festival, and I loved the amazing energy and culture that the event provided! The second song I made is about one of the Greatriarchs, Ms. Diane. I was able to have an amazing interview with her learning about her life in and around Indy. It was really eye-opening and inspiring, and I feel very honored to have been able to make a song about her. (If you ever want to listen to my music just look up “Jeremiah Ince” on any music platform!)

Jeremiah working in the soundcave

Photo credit: Caleb John Smith

The tracks “i. can’t believe” and “iii. ms. diane’s story” are transitional tracks I made for this EP in order to further enhance the story I am trying to tell. I made “i. can’t believe” after an interaction with a Greatriarch named Ms. Linda in which we talked about the tree that was near and dear to her family but was cut down by the city. The city was able to claim that the tree was “not within their property” and with this it gave them the opportunity to cut it down in order to make some big and expensive changes in the neighborhood. This really spoke to me and inspired me just to briefly highlight how gentrification has impacted those who are long term members of this community and city. Not only this, but in order to make sure the legacy of that tree lives on, I asked Ms. Linda if I could make it my EP cover. This way people can see how magnificent the tree is and imagine how much it might’ve hurt to see that tree cut down. “iii. ms. diane’s story” is the same way in which I highlight her reaction and feeling towards gentrification in the neighborhood. I had the wonderful chance of interviewing her and that part of the interview really stood out to me and made me want to include it to the EP. She talks about how even though she loves this city, it hurts to see all the change that is happening. Housing is ten times the original amount and places like roller rinks and movie theaters are being shut down and destroyed in order to build this housing. Being able to highlight that was really important because now it’s not just me saying how negative gentrification is, but we have an actual member of the community talking about it as well.

The track “ii. diamonds” is about the Black Joy Festival I went to at Riverside Park. That same day I had flown into Indianapolis, while I was waiting for my bags I went to sit to tie my shoes and this lady stared at me like she was disgusted. Her face was scrunched and she gave me a very disapproving stare. At first I thought it was because of what I was wearing but she hadn’t even seen my clothes and I wasn’t wearing anything crazy. She had only seen my face and my skin tone. This isn’t the first time this has happened, but every time it happens it creates a lasting memory that really messes up my vibe. Thus, I focused on that in the first verse of this song with a chord progression that goes down to show my unhappiness. However, my vibe and feelings immediately increased once I met up with my brother and we went to the festival. This is because I was around people who looked like me and people who were unapologetically black. Seeing this warmed my soul and inspired me to write the second and third verses about how amazing black people are and why we should love each other, although some people don’t love us back. The instrumental reflected that as it sounded more upbeat and had chords that moved up instead of down and even increased the beat's speed. 

The final track, “iv. don’t cry'' was made based upon my interview with Ms. Diane, in which I just wanted to highlight her life. This track highlights Ms. Diane’s childhood and how she had to work in her mom’s restaurant, which helped her realize she wanted to do social work as an adult. Ms. Diane had the ability to travel all over during her life, but yet she always came back to Indianapolis no matter how far she went. Through these travels, she was able to see how Indy was changing each time she left and came back. Her childhood roller rinks and movie theaters were being torn down to create more housing. She could see how streets that used to be full of houses now only have 4-5 homes that cost ten times more than the original price. Although this is very saddening and can cause heartbreak, I still found it a blessing that the story lived on through her. This is why the song is called “don’t you cry” and why I have the hook as “Don’t you cry my dear / Don’t you cry my dear / Your story’s always here.” The pitched-up vocal represents her mother telling her not to cry because those memories of old Indy and her stories from childhood will always be a part of her. Even though there is massive change happening, there is still a bit of the past that will be there forever, which can become a message for all those seeing this change in their community.