India Arie is an American songwriter, singer, and record producer who has a net worth of $4 million. India Arie is a famous, Grammy Award-winning artist mostly adored by fans and praised by critics. At the time of publication, she has won four Grammy Awards out of 23 nominations and sold 5 million albums in the United States and millions more globally.
Arie released her debut album “Acoustic Soul” in 2001. The album eventually went platinum and spawned multiple hit singles like “Video,” “Brown Skin” and “Ready For Love.” A year later, she followed with the release of her sophomore album “Voyage to India.”
Then, she released the album “Testimony,” which although it was meant to be a double release, was split into two separate pieces called Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (2006) and Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics (2009).
Later, after a long hiatus, India Arie saw the release of her fifth studio album, “SongVersation,” in the summer of 2013. She has also collaborated with many major figures within the music sector including John Mellencamp, Stevie Wonder, Ashley Judd, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, and John Legend.
India Arie was born on October 3, 1975, in Denver, Colorado to parents Joyce and Ralph Simpson. She was obviously very musically talented from a young age and her parents encouraged her to develop her skills as she got older.
Her mother was also a singer signed to Motown and used to sing as an opener for Stevie Wonder and Al Green. She grew up together with her younger sister Mary and older brother J’On.
Arie’s parents divorced and her mother moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia when she was 13. It was there that Arie’s talents were more fully developed, as she started playing and practicing various instruments in earnest. She eventually enrolled at Savannah College of Art and Design. There, she became more interested in playing the guitar and in singing and songwriting.
India Arie Career
India Arie co-founded the Atlanta-based independent music collective, Groovement EarthShare. This collective released a compilation of music in 1998. Arie sang one song on that compilation, which helped her develop a small fan base and led to her getting booked on a second stage at the 1998 Lilith Fair. In 1999, a Universal/Motown music scout signed her the following year.
In March of 2001, India Arie published her debut album, “Acoustic Soul.” The album was a commercial and critical success, debuting at number 10 on the US Billboard 200 chart. Furthermore, it debuted in the third spot on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Despite the issue that this album never got tons of concentrated radio airplay, Arie had developed a devoted fan base. This album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, selling more than two million copies in the US and at least three million globally.
Notably, it was certified gold in England and platinum in Canada. The album featured the renowned singles “Video” and “Brown Skin.” Arie and “Acoustic Soul” got nominated for up to seven Grammy Awards in 2002, although she eventually did not win any. Nevertheless, she did close that ceremony with a performance of her song ‘Video.’
After the success of her debut album, Arie published “Voyage to India, her second album, in September 2002. It debuted at number six on the Billboard 2000 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The Recording Industry Association of America certified the album platinum.
During the 2003 Grammy Awards, it bagged Best R&B album and the single, “Little Things,” which won Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Moreover, the song “Get It Together” featured on many film soundtracks including “Shark Tale” in 2004 and “Brown Sugar” in 2002.
In 2005, India Arie was featured on the famous Stevie Wonder’s album, “A Time to Love.” The two performed a duet together, written by Arie, known as “A Time to Love.” This track was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 2006 Grammy Awards.
In 2006, she released her third album, “Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship.” This album went on to be certified gold in the US. She collaborated with Akon on the song “I Am Not My Hair,” which later became the album’s most successful track.
She released the next album “Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics” in 2009 and it debuted in the third spot on the Billboard 200 and in the second spot on the R&B chart. This album had several collaborations with artists like Gramps Morgan, Sezen Aksu, Keb Mo, and Musiq Soulchild.
It was also her first self-produced album after her label. The same year, she also portrayed singer Nina Simone in a stage reading at the Roundabout Theatre Company of the popular Broadway musical, “Soul Doctor.” This play detailed the life of Shlomo Carlebach and was written by Daniel Wise.
In 2010, India Arie was one of more than 70 artists to sign on to “We Are the World: 25 for Haiti,” a charity single to help the 2010 Haiti earthquake. She also contributed some vocals to the song “Imagine” for the 2010 Herbie Hancock album, “The Imagine Project.” Also, she was featured as a guest vocalist on the Carlos Santana version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” on his popular album, “Guitar Heaven.”
Arie unleashed her fifth album, “Songversation,” in June of 2013. It featured the singles “6th Avenue” and “Cocoa Butter.” In 2015, she published a collaborative album with Joe Sample known as “Christmas with Friends.” In July 2016. She premiered the single, “Breathe,” inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Breathe” was later featured in the EP, “Songversation: Medicine,” in June 2017. In 2018, she premiered her new single, “That Magic” which was the lead song from her sixth studio album, “Worthy,” which she unleashed in February of 2019.
Real Estate
In 2003 India Arie paid $340,000 for a home in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The 1.4-acre property is still her primary residence today.