afropunk premiere: haitian american jazz-folk singer-songwriter leyla mccalla shares “a day for the hunter, a day for the prey”

Leyla McCalla is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist Haitian-American jazz and folk singer-songwriter from NYC/New Jersey. Formerly the celist of Grammy-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, McCalla left the group to embarked on a solo career, releasing her very well-received 2013 debut album “Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes”. Her rich heritage as the daughter of Haitian immigrants is a prevalent theme that runs throughout her music. Her newest song, “A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey” was inspired by the circumstances of impoverished Haitians in search of better lives and the hardships that seeking those lives would entail. “A day for the Hunter, A day for the Prey is a song that I wrote thinking about boat people from Haiti, trying to escape poverty and persecution, in search of a better life, how hard it must be to make the decision to leave everything you’ve ever known, to risk it all. This brings to mind another proverb from Haiti, which says you don’t put your child in the water unless it’s safer than the land.”

Photo: By Sarrah Danzinger

leylamccalla.com
facebook.com/leylamccallamusic

*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.