Devin Parrish

#CDE3121 Sessions

• Sat · Emancipation — Emancipation Virtual Presentations (Presenter)
• Sun · 3121 — 3121 Virtual Presentations (Presenter)

For Emancipation: From Mavis's Lips to Mahalia's Ears

If Prince had Mavis Staples singing, "God is coming like a dog in heat," he had no problem alluding to Mahalia Jackson in "Sex in the Summer." Prince had a habit of combining the spiritual and secular and this time it's on the nose. But his lyricism in Staples' songs like "Jaguar" and "Get Your House in Order" is evidence that including Jackson and her classic "In the Upper Room" in a song about pleasure is in no way a step too far.

For 3121: Get on the Boat, Little Children

Prince's "Get on the Boat" bears a striking resemblance to the African American spiritual, "Get on Board, Little Children." The former is Prince's contribution to that canon, following in the tradition of the Fisk Jubilee Singers and Paul Robeson. However, instead of outright covering "Get on Board," Prince references Underground Railroad metaphors and gospel quartet influences to make "Get on the Boat" a freedom song for the 21st century.

Bio

Devin K. Parrish is a semi-retired journalist currently masquerading as a doctoral student in theology. She was raised by two artists including her late mother who was a gospel musician. Devin’s Prince journey began at age eight when she listened to her older sister’s copy of Around the World in a Day on a Sony walkman.