As content creators and curators, the Melanin Voices team strives to give the Black University of Iowa community a platform to showcase their struggles, talents, accomplishments...you get it. For this week's #WordlessWednesday, we've done just that with Sophomore and Iowa native Mikhayla Hughes-Shaw. Watch her slay the cover of Alicia Keys' "Unthinkable" via one of her greatest talents – playing the violin!
Video shot and edited by Blake Warner of VPI Films.
Melanin Voices: When did you start playing violin and why?
Mikhayla Hughes-Shaw: I started playing when i was twelve years old. I had always loved the instrument, and just wanted to get my hands on it.
MV: Why is music important to you?
Hughes-Shaw: Music heals. Music has helped me through so much. I am hoping that music can do for someone else what is has done for me, which is provide them with peace and clarity of mind.
MV: Does being a black violinist affect you personally? What sort of influence do you think that identity has on those around you?
Hughes-Shaw: Not a lot of young black women study classical music. Not a lot of women rock and afro or curly hair and play R&B hits. I have been influenced not so much by my race, but by the music I grew up with. I want to give a new spin to the music industry. I want to be original.