NEW YORK – The energy of African dance meets the spirit of Afrobeats music in I Believe In Myself, a new children’s album from award-winning dancer, choreographer, songwriter, and educator Funmilayo Chesney. Presented under the moniker “FUSHA Kids” and drawn from Funmilayo’s decades of teaching and performing with her NYC-based African dance ensemble, FUSHA Dance, I Believe In Myself is set for release on May 16, 2025.
The songs on I Believe In Myself interweave elements of traditional African music with the production style of contemporary Afrobeats, while also drawing inspiration from samba, salsa, hip hop, reggae, calypso and soca. Using a call-and-response approach in her FUSHA Kids songwriting, Funmilayo encourages children to affirm their identities through their voices and their bodies.
“My goal is to create a narrative in which kids feel inspired by learning from a powerful Black woman and realize they are also powerful,” says Funmilayo. “A central component of my artistic practice is writing and recording songs to use as teaching tools in my dance classes for both adults and children. Through original songs and traditional African dance and drum, my FUSHA Kids album, I Believe In Myself, enlightens children about historical leaders in racial justice, celebrates the cultural heritage of the African Diaspora, and teaches inclusivity and respect for diverse backgrounds and perspectives.”
Watch Funmilayo in action in these FUSHA Kids music videos:
"Afro Alphabet" HERE .
"I Believe In Myself (Yay! Yo!)" HERE .
I Believe In Myself seamlessly incorporates self-affirmation on several tracks, including “I Am A Leader,” a call-and-response pledge with a jazzy piano background. In “Afro Alphabet” children repeat after Funmilayo the letters of the alphabet combined with words that uplift Black identity and history, such as “A, African American! B - Black is Beautiful! C - People of Color! D - Dignity!” In the album’s highly rhythmic title track, children sing lines that affirm their sense of possibility and self-confidence: “I am young, and I am strong! I am beautiful! I can be anything I wanna be!”
Other album highlights include “Dance Butterflies,” based on a traditional Congolese rhythm called Zebola; “Funga Alafia,” a traditional Nigerian song and dance of hospitality that welcomes visitors to one’s home; and “Harriet Tubman,” a song about the American abolitionist and social activist known as the “Mother of the Underground Railroad.” “Harriet Tubman” was written by Yusef Waliyaya, Funmilayo Chesney’s mentor and creator of the classic 1997 Teach the Children album by The Medicine Man YaYa.
Also noteworthy is the album’s Kwanzaa section, which begins with Funmilayo Chesney reading “The Libation Statement,” written by Dr. Maulana Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa. This is followed by “Kwanzaa,” a song in Swahili outlining the seven principles of the annual celebration of African American culture, and “Harambe,” which explains the principles of Kwanzaa in English.
Al MacDowell, the producer of I Believe In Myself, is a bassist, music producer, composer, sound engineer, and longtime collaborator with Funmilayo Chesney. Al has spent most of his musical career devoted to expanding the limits of American jazz culture under the wings of jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman.
ABOUT FUNMILAYO CHESNEY:
Funmilayo Chesney, born in Brazil, raised in Guyana, and longtime resident of New York City, is a quadruple-threat performing and teaching artist – dancer, singer-songwriter, drummer, and choreographer. She is the Artistic Director of FUSHA (Fierce Undulating Spirits Have Arrived) Dance Company in New York City and is a registered New York Department of Education freelance educator for music and dance empowerment. Funmilayo was a member of the only traditional Congolese dance company in New York City, Malaki Ma Congo, and has won awards for her excellence in African dance teaching. She has taught Congolese dance at Alvin Ailey, Harlem School of the Arts, Cumbe, Lezly Dance and Skate, Fareta and Djoniba, among other locations. Funmilayo and FUSHA Dance Company have graced the stages of the United Nations, Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Apollo Theater, African Burial Ground NYC, BAM, The African Street Festival, Harlem Stage, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Summerstage, and Symphony Space. They have toured worldwide with ongoing yearly tours to South America, Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa, where Funmilayo and FUSHA Dance Company regularly lead Congolese dance workshops for children and adults. While Funmilayo has been performing as a singer and writing songs for decades, I Believe In Myself is her first children’s album, presented under the moniker FUSHA Kids.
I Believe In Myself will available digitally on all major platforms, including Amazon, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, and Tidal.
To celebrate the album’s release, Funmilayo Chesney and FUSHA Dance will perform in the 19th annual Dance Parade New York on Saturday, May 17, 2025, for which Funmilayo has been named one of this year's Grand Marshalls