by Farai Chideya

Farai and Angie
Geoffrey Bennett, NPR

Farai Chideya, (left), and Angie Stone, (right)

I had a great time getting to meet and interview Angie Stone and Jonathan Butler. Both have struggled and surmounted any number of challenges to live a life of music.

Angie Stone had a serious set of ongoing health problems from an industrial accident that happened in a hospital laboratory ... just as she was getting ready for her big musical break.

Jonathan Butler grew up in the South African townships — the "Colored" townships (as the apartheid government declared areas "African," "Colored" (or mixed-race), and "White"). He broke the color barrier on South African radio, and has gone on to a career in jazz, soul and gospel that spans across the globe.

So many people try to make it in music; so few reach commercial audiences. But in listening to Angie and Jonathan, you realize their drive to succeed came not from seeking money or fame, but from the soul.

In a way, most music is soul music ... it comes from a very deep place. Oddly enough (or not), some of what makes it big is flat and flavorless.

So: what are you listening to? What moves your soul?

Let us know ...