Born and raised in the creative and cultural trove that isthe Haitian enclave of Boston by a classically trained vocalist mother (also anurse) and a Psychiatrist father, Dinquinesh personifies the nouveau artiste—amultifaceted creative force—driven by both impulse and commitment; her gifts transcendingthe luminosity of her voice, and the depth of her poetics.

A fashion designer, seamstress, activist, Birth Doula (laborassistant) and Phlebotomist, she has been a staple on the Boston music scenefor at least a decade, performing at festivals and in the college circuit inbetween regular gigs highlighting as a back-up singer for prominent touringacts.

But it is from those sturdy Afro-Caribbean roots thatDinquinesh taps not only her musical influences but what seems like a quest totame spiritual tumult through song; it is this collectivity in struggle thatinfuses her sound with both introspection and liberation.

Standing at the nexus of the intersection where post-souland rock and roll meet, Dinquinesh’s offering is an attempt at reconciling thecontradictions of these categories. Andit is this creative resistance on her part—whether accidental or intended—that somehow seams the different threads of her influences. But it is in the poetics of her lyrics wherethe singer lays bare her soul; the candor in her delivery is at once painfuland beautiful.

Dinquinesh’s sound—an offshoot of Boston’s rich musicallandscape where seedlings of transcontinental sounds comingle with the homespunrhythms of Americana to blend into an eclectic sound of varied influences—is anembodiment of post-R&B soul in which the blues of everyday living adoptsnew rhythms, at once transcendental and profound, yet sturdy enough to carrythe weight of its themes. It is a soundthat emits “red lights” as she purges the traumas of love crimes.

Yemoja has stretched her arms across the seas. She has indeed arrived.