ABOUT DR. E.

Dr. E aka The Inspirational Soul Queen is a soulful recording and performance artist. A multi- dimensional performer in the spirit of Maya Angelou, Dr. E is OSU professor, songstress, songwriter, actress, author, activist, speaker, and survivor. As a recording artist, Dr. E has two solo album projects to her credit--“Elevated,” her first full length CD effort, was nominated for a Soultracks.com best new artist award in 2010 and its follow-up, Songs for the Struggle, was named one of The Soul Show’s (NPR-affiliated WYEP-FM Pittsburgh) top 10 albums of 2017. The Twin Cities Arts Reader declared her one-woman show based on her memoir, PHD (Po H# on Dope) to Ph.D.: How Education Saved My Life (2013), a Critic’s Pick of the 2017 Minnesota Fringe Festival.  She is currently at work on her third project “Underlying Conditions.”

Dr. E has shared stages with a diverse roster of stars: rap icon MC Lyte, gospel recording artist Martha Munizzi, Soul recording artist Angie Stone, star of stage and screen-Jenifer Lewis, and more. She has performed on the stages of the Lansing Jazz Festival, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, Springfield Jazz Festival, Columbus Arts Fest, The Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus Jazz & Rib Fest, Cleveland Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, hundreds of universities, and many more.

Dr. E’s From the Soul is a show that honors Soul, R&B, Funk, Blues and Jazz Queens. It features the music of iconic artists such as Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Phyllis Hyman, Erykah Badu, and more. Also featured in Dr. E’s show are original pieces that serve as a narrative to her own life as well as the lives of women of color.

While her organic sound summons the textures of black music’s history with its trek from retro groove to modern smooth, the power and timbre of Dr. E’s voice—both physically and metaphorically--give the set its authenticity and magnetism. Dr. E is founder of the non-profit organization Education Foundation for Freedom. The mission is to interrupt vulnerability of women, girls and gender expansive people of color through arts, culture and community education.