Family helps singer who put dream on hold for them
For the Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Some memories of the 1980s are welcome ones.
For Selita Boyd, the ’80s mark her calling to become a recording artist.
Johnny Crawford/jcrawford@ajc.com
Selita Boyd shelved her dreams of becoming a pop star to help support her four younger sisters. Now her family says it’s time for Boyd to have the music career she’s longed for.
Selita Boyd's CD will be available Jan. 27 at www.cdbaby.com
• Blog: Atlanta Music Scene
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That’s when she heard Shannon’s classic song “Let the Music Play.”
Boyd was a teenager performing in local pageants.
“I love dance music,” she recalled. “I heard Shannon, and I said ‘I can do this.’ “
But life got in the way. Now 43, Boyd is a computer software consultant living in Stone Mountain.
Boyd’s dream was deferred in high school after her father suffered a back injury and was unable to work. Her mother was also incapacitated from trigeminal neuralgia, which caused debilitating pain in her face.
She was only 16 at the time, yet Boyd was the oldest of five girls, so she put her aspirations aside and got a part-time job to help support her family. Later as her career in computers flourished, she continued to care for her family.
In 1994, she founded Top Notch Recording studio in Stone Mountain, where she intended to produce songs for her CD. But work travels prevented her from getting the album done, and Top Notch became a family-run business that was used by So-So Def and Laface Records.
“I knew I was going to finish this album eventually,” Boyd said. “I’ve had so many people say, ‘No matter what, don’t give up on your dream. Finish that album.’ “
Indeed, the album has been a labor of love for the entire Boyd family. By 2001, Boyd’s parents were healthier and built the singer a recording studio in the basement of the family home. (Boyd closed Top Notch studios in 1997.)
As Boyd made headway with her album, her sisters realized she needed a game plan for marketing and distribution. They gathered more than 30 relatives for regular meetings on promotional campaigns, performance dates and targeting radio stations.
“We always say that if it hadn’t been for Selita sacrificing, we never could have made it,” said her sister Karanji Powell, 34. “So we try to be there, and whatever we need to do, we do.”
Her new CD, titled “Spend the Night,” will be available next week at CD Baby online music store under her stage name, ConSoulTant.
Its catchy dance single “Have U Googled Yourself 2Day” should please Shannon fans.
“It’s a labor of love for her,” said Dru Castro, recording engineer/producer on the album. “It’s an eclectic mixture of dance, pop and ballads. I have a lot of joy watching Selita see her vision come to life.” (Castro is a producer on India Arie’s upcoming album, “Testimony, Volume 2.”)
Check out Boyd’s album and videos at www.consoultant.com. The CD will be available Jan. 27 at www.cdbaby.com.
