Givin’ It Up is about a young woman growing up in Harlem in the 60’s who through a twist of events discovers that she is not who she thinks she is and comes face-to-face with the American family secret.
It is inspired by William Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” and features the songs, samples and music influenced by Donald Toussaint Byrd.
The story of Joy/Ayomide is a story common to many African Americans who experience the racial challenges of living in America. It’s personal. It’s about families. It’s about the past and it’s about the future. “Givin’ It Up” is a story about the messiness, pain, and redemption of human relationships. It is a parable, a story proportioned so that yesterday’s truth can empower rather than overwhelm.
Arranging the last part of the story first and the first, last – “Givin’ It Up” underscores that redemption depends on the future just as much as it depends on the past.