VMP Magazine

Members! Your copies of Nina Simone Sings the Blues should be making their way via the Pony Express to your homes right now. To get you prepared for that happening, we've got the directions and a photo guide for making this month's cocktail, so you can get that before your record comes and crack an adult beverage while you crack the plastic on the outside of your record. Shout out to Bar Fausto in Denver for hooking us up with our recipe this month.

During my quest to read every Nina Simone book and watch every Nina Simone movie, I found out that none of those pieces of media were pausing to tell you about which albums by her were the best. She released close to 50 studio and live albums during her proper career, and the amount of compilations and unofficial albums from shady labels brings that number closer to 75. We think Nina Simone Sings the Blues is the best Nina Simone album, but we don’t think the Nina part of your collection should stop there. So here are the 10 Best Nina Simone Albums to Own on Vinyl.

"Blues had the pulse beat of the people who keep on going." – Langston Hughes

Nina Simone remains one of the most respected and celebrated artists in American history, but she may go down as one of the most sampled as well. Her musings on life, love, liberty, and the Black body have been repurposed and reenvisioned for decades now; such a long line of artists attempting to keep her legacy alive by building upon her blueprint for music that can love you with a clenched fist.

Kanye West is a walking embodiment of the idea, comparing his own music to the morning coffee as a way to kickstart one’s confidence to push through their existence. But the political implications have always been present throughout his catalog too. Perhaps it’s fate that he’s sampled Nina five times in his career, each moment more purposeful and distinct than the last. How does he call upon her, and why? Do his methods change? How is he dialoguing today with yesteryear in an inventive fashion?

In celebration of this month’s VMP release, I dug into those five Kanye records with Nina Simone samples in search of a thread of commonality in their activism for the people and their connection to the spirit as well. There’s times to fight, to retreat, to demand more from oneself as much as the world. I found all of the above to be true, and much more when reflecting on the growth of his oeuvre by the way Ye calls on Nina to frame the power of his words. You’ll find him at his most enraged, dejected, hopeful, and untouchable with Ms. Simone guiding his hand.

By now, you know that Nina Simone Sings the Blues is our featured Record of the Month. Sings the Blues is an essential album in Nina’s catalog—and a superb entry point into her artistry for those unfamiliar—but it’s only a small part of her story. Once you finish up reading our Liner Notes for the album, we realized you might want to be pointed to where you should go next, if you want to learn everything you can about her.

Befitting an artist of her stature, there have been many gallons of ink spilled, and trees cut down, to fill books about her life. There have also been multiple documentaries and DVDs made. But lucky for you, we’ve made this handy guide of five movies, four books, and one magazine profile you should/could read to learn everything you can about one of the greatest artists we’ve ever had.