Nitanju Bolade Casel has been a member of the

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

ensemble

Sweet Honey in the Rock Sweet Honey in the Rock is an all-women band, all-woman, African American, African-American a cappella ensemble. They are an United States, American three-time Grammy Award–nominated troupe who express their history as black women through song ...

since 1985. Prior to joining, Casel spent four years studying performance and cultural organization in

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, Senegal. While in

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, she and MarieLouise Guinier co-founded ADEA (Artistes des Echanges Africaines), an organization that seeks to use the arts to facilitate the exchange of ideas and services between Pan African people. Casel has contributed a number of original musical compositions and contemporary arrangements of traditional African songs to ''Sweet Honey in the Rocks'' repertoire. Her compositions are also included in a children's textbook, ''World of Music'', and ''The Box'', a pilot TV show from

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

's Tribeca Production Company. Casel appeared in the 1998 film, ''

Beloved Beloved may refer to: Books * ''Beloved'' (novel), a 1987 novel by Toni Morrison * ''The Beloved'' (Faulkner novel), a 2012 novel by Australian author Annah Faulkner *''Beloved'', a 1993 historical romance about Zenobia, by Bertrice Small Film ...

'', starring

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

and

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films include ...

. She was also a guest artist in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

production of ''Duke Ellington's Great Ladies of Song''. Casel is a co-director of First World Productions, a cultural and educational performance arts organization.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Sweet Honey in the Rock members American women singers African-American women singers 21st-century American women {{US-singer-stub