No other artist has been as difficult discern as Nina Simone. There is really no way to file her in one’s collection: is she blues, folk, jazz, soul or gospel? In every genre she’s attempted (basically every genre ever), she has excelled and made it completely her own. She could do a Bob Dylan cover directly followed by an Irving Berlin one–her versatility is unlike any other singer of her time. Simone’s voice, legacy, and Black Power and Civil Rights activism is a controversial, yet delicate and broken enigma; just like her life. Which is why it’s important to understand the facts of her experience, from start to finish. To absorb the immensity of what she did, who she was, and the impact she made.
Nina Simone Final Project 