MacArthur’s Genius Grants are intended to allow recipients the ability to pursue their work without financial concern-something almost essential for an artist in country music who happens to be a woman, and a woman of African American descent. On Tuesday (10/11), it was announced that the founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops turned dynamic solo performer would be one of 24 recipients of 2017’s MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grants,” affording her a whopping $625,000. We’re here to acknowledge the continued accomplishments of Rhiannon Giddens, including a new cash reward for her efforts that with all due respect to Steve Martin and his banjo prize, makes that look like a drop in the bucket. This assessment was in acknowledgement of Rhiannon’s efforts on Eric Church’s big single at the time called “Kill A Word,” and the fact that she had landed a semi-regular spot on the cast of the television drama Nashville, on top of securing $50,000 in cash for 2016’s Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass.īut we’re not here a year later to celebrate my divination skills, however keen they may be (cough). She’s doing it by being her own badass self, and in a way that gives the music and entertainment industry no choice but to pay attention, and figure out how to apply her talents to whatever they’re doing because she’s just so damn good and they want to be a part of it.” “She’s not doing it through slithering her way into pop country songwriting circles, or selling out with some big single that may impact country radio.

“We’re not screwing around anymore here folks,” I said.

One year ago, I posted the same picture you see above of Rhiannon Giddens, with her fingers touching and her eyes shifted to the side like she’s about to hatch some devilish plan, and I told you, the sainted Saving Country Music reader, to watch out for what she had in store.

Well of Souls by Rhiannon Giddens