photo by michael persico

Umm ... Drop

Ghettosongbird.

by Doug Wallen

Scour Philly’s music scene all you want—or any city’s, for that matter—and you won’t find anyone quite like Ghettosongbird. Born Samantha Johnson, this soul-singing, tough-strutting, guitar-wrangling local iconoclast has developed a style all her own, which can finally be heard now that she’s wrapped her rangy album Hoodstock Wingdom.

Coming off like ’60s-damaged psych-funk-blues, Johnson’s songs are equally indebted to Jimi Hendrix, Curtis Mayfield, Sly Stone, Prince and George Clinton. But her influences don’t stop there. Johnson is creatively omnivorous, learning as much from Janis Joplin (dig that voice) as from Led Zeppelin (ditto the stadium-sized stomp).

The album’s name is a nod to Wingdom Fest, a talent- and vendor-packed event Johnson co-created. Now in its fourth year, the fest—described as “Woodstock meets Live Aid meets the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” on its MySpace page—is a bravado blend of genre-spanning music and generous charity. This year funds go toward the youth jazz ensemble the Young Talents of Music, which helps nurture creativity in kids from the street.

Joined these days by the backing band Roxsploitation, Johnson is pushing forward with her unique sound. She’s worked with people who played with Hendrix, Tupac and Chaka Khan, and she gave an unlikely live performance on BET’s popular show 106 & Park.

Hoodstock Wingdom is just as unpredictable, from the street-smart “Mothersucka” to the instrumental “Blues Jam,” on which Johnson’s guitar is smoky and winding. “Breakin’ Your Rules” is as defiant as its title, “3rd Eye of the Sky” stretches to a sultry six minutes and “War on My Heartstrings” is an atmospheric slice of gospel-psych. And maybe it’s in the ear of the beholder, but Johnson’s confidence seems to grow with each song.