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Tavis: India.Arie is an awfully talented Grammy-winning musician who's first two CDs have each sold over 6 million copies now worldwide. She's also an ambassador for UNICEF, and in March she performed at Nelson Mandela's event to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa. Her latest single, though, is 'Purify Me.' It appears on the soundtrack for 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman.' Didn't that movie do well? Later on in this program, she'll perform the song with her band, but first some of the video for 'Purify Me.'

India.Arie: ...You've given me, and that's more than enough,

It's like jumpin' in a river of,

Purify me, baby,

And that's more than enough,

It's like jumping in a river of,

Purify me, baby, yeah, yeah...

Tavis: India.Arie, nice to see you.

India.Arie: Thank you. Nice to see you, too.

Tavis: Every time I hear you sing, every time we get together in person, I always think that we almost didn't get this because if you had done what you went to college for......we never would have appreciated all this wonderful talent. So tell those who don't already know the story what you actually went to school for.

India.Arie: I went to school for-- The major is called metals and jewelry.

Tavis: Metals and jewelry.

India.Arie: A jewelry maker, with a minor in art history. But I wasn't really trying to go to school for that. My mom said I had to go to college, and I got a portfolio scholarship, so I went. But I've been singing literally all of my life, so...

Tavis: So what do you have on today that you made?

India.Arie: Nothing.

Tavis: Nothing that you made. Anything your mama made?

India.Arie: Of course, this belt. I always have on something she made.

Tavis: Right.

India.Arie: My jewelry thing is-- I don't get to make a lot. It's time-consuming. But I have concepts, so I had a friend make this for me.

Tavis: So you have concepts and you tell your friends what your concept is, and they make it for you.

India.Arie: Yeah.

Tavis: When you're India.Arie, you can do that. 'Why don't you make this for me?' And your mama--let me guess. Your mama makes your stuff for you for free, or is she charging you yet?

India.Arie: Mm-mm. She don't charge me.

Tavis: What?

India.Arie: I tried. I was like, 'Mom, send the invoice.'

Tavis: You're makin' money, and your mama don't charge you?

India.Arie: Isn't that crazy?

Tavis: Does she make suits?

India.Arie: For money.

Tavis: Oh, for money, OK.

India.Arie: You have to pay her.

Tavis: Could I get that India discount?

India.Arie: Nobody gets my discount.

Tavis: Yeah, can I get the India discount on a three-button, mama? Anyway...

India.Arie: She could hook you up, though.

Tavis: I know she could hook me up. I mentioned in the introduction that you were recently in South Africa doing the AIDS awareness concert for Nelson Mandela. I know you met him, and I've had that same pleasure, so let's swap-- I don't want to swap stories--I ain't gonna tell you mine-- but I want to hear yours.

India.Arie: You tell me about it after.

Tavis: OK. What was your meeting with Nelson Mandela? 'Cause he just took my breath away.

India.Arie: Um... It was so great.

Tavis: Oh, like that, huh?

India.Arie: It was so great.

Tavis: Just like that.

India.Arie: It was so great, because I went to do the concert, of course, but I really wanted to meet Nelson Mandela. And I was actually in Kenya last November. And he had his CEO, 'cause he was--that was when he was diagnosed with cancer. He was really ill. But he had the CEO of his company call and say, we know you're here, thanks for coming to Africa, but he can't talk to you now. And I was like, I'm gonna see him, I'm gonna see him one day. So when I got invited to that concert, I was really going to see him, not for the concert. So I woke up the day after the concert and said I got to see him now.

Tavis: Right.

India.Arie: Nobody's calling me, nobody's hooking it up. So I just called--his name is John Samuel--the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and I just called his room, 'Excuse me. I really want to see Mr. Mandela, please.' And he called me back in 10 minutes. 'Can you be down there in 30 minutes?' I just walked myself down to his room and knocked on the door, and he opened it, and he was just sitting there. They let me come in and set down. Do you know what he said? 'So what's new with you?'

Tavis: Nelson Mandela just said, 'So what's new with you?'

India.Arie: Yeah.

Tavis: Yeah.

India.Arie: But it was good, 'cause what was new with me was something meaningful.

Tavis: Yeah.

India.Arie: That I'm joining, you know, the fight against AIDS with my words and my music, and just trying to learn and understand how the universe works so what I can do to help the kids and the women and the men and the people in Africa.

Tavis: Why this particular cause? When you become India.Arie, people reach out to you and want you to do a lot of things. A lot of good work, and there's a lot of good work that needs to be done. Let's be real about it. But why this particular cause, AIDS, for you?

India.Arie: I wish I could give you a less abstract answer, but the truth is that--

Tavis: The truth always works.

India.Arie: The truth works.

Tavis: Yeah, it works.

India.Arie: I pray for how I can be useful in the world and through my music and through my actions and stuff. I always pray for that. And the opportunity came to me. They asked me if I wanted to do these things. I said yes.

Tavis: That works. That works. How do you describe... Every time I hear your stuff again I have a difficult time. I feel it, but it's hard to describe what 'it' is. For those who don't know your music, they're gonna hear you perform here in just a second. And most people know you now. But for someone from another planet who didn't know what India.Arie did musically, how would you describe what it is that you do? And it's so spiritual, but there ain't no category in the record store called spiritual. I mean, there's gospel category, but...I don't know...

India.Arie: Thank you for saying that. Um, I call it acoustic soul. And what that means to me is it's songs written on the guitar. I write most of my songs on my guitar, but it's not folk music, what you'd normally think of as folk music. My vocal style is not folk style. It's soul. Like I grew up on Stevie Wonder, but mostly I grew up on my mom and my grandmother, and everybody sings. And it's real, uh, you know, we sang, like sang. There's nothin' real mild about it really. And that combination, I think, is a little bit different than what people think of when they see someone playing the acoustic guitar. So that's why I started calling it acoustic soul.

Tavis: Do you still carry your guitar around with you?

India.Arie: I wish I could. I'd be stopping traffic. I wish I could.

Tavis: When we first met years ago, every time I looked up, you had that guitar draggin' around.

India.Arie: Well, I do at the venues.

Tavis: Still carry it around.

India.Arie: But I also call it soul music because it's music that I feel is from my soul.

Tavis: Mm-hmm.

India.Arie: Like I sit really quiet and think and pray and stuff when I'm writing. And it's just, you know, from that place. And I hope that it reaches the souls of people.

Tavis: You're doing that. You mentioned Stevie a moment ago. Did I read somewhere that you have co-written one of the tracks on this new Stevie album?

India.Arie: Mm-hmm.

Tavis: Jonathan, what camera am I on? Am I on '1' here? Yeah. On the new Stevie album--whenever it gets out, Stevie!

India.Arie: Hurry up!

Tavis: We've been waiting about 12 years, Stevie.

India.Arie: Hello!

Tavis: Where is the CD, Stevie?

India.Arie: 'Cause we want to know.

Tavis: Yeah, everybody's waiting. Where is this record at, anyway?

India.Arie: You know Stevie. He goes in his own time.

Tavis: Stevie moves in his own space. But I read--heard you wrote one of the tracks on it--co-wrote one of the tracks on it. Tell me about the song.

India.Arie: I'm about to melt out of the seat right now just talking about it.

Tavis: You know you all that when you writin' for Stevie Wonder.

India.Arie: He allowed me to, you know. He gave me the melody and said--I can't even talk about it. He gave me the melody and said, 'This is what I want the song to be about.' I took it home and sent it back the next day. Here it is!

Tavis: The next day.

India.Arie: The next day. I got it. It's done.

Tavis: That's a lot of nerve. Stevie Wonder says, 'Write me a track.' See, if I were you, and Stevie had asked me to write something, I would have at least, 'cause you know Stevie don't--as we just said, Stevie takes forever to do something anyway. I love the brother, but he takes his own time. So I would've, like, taken, like, a few weeks or somethin' just to act like I'd really put something into this. You come and send it back the next day, India.

India.Arie: Well, you know, he knows what's good. He knows music, and that's definite. And I knew that he was either gonna like it or not. But my-- Sometimes I shy away from saying stuff like this, because I think it sounds real idealistic, but it's true. I prayed about it. A lot. I was praying and writing at the same time. Please just let it be the words that are gonna--what's the word I'm looking for?--that are gonna capture the sentiment he wants to me to be able to--

Tavis: Well, from what I hear, it worked 'cause it's on the record. Whenever it drops, Stevie!

India.Arie: Hurry up! So we can go on tour.

Tavis: Stevie is not out with his new CD as yet, but India.Arie is here, and she'll be joined by her band in a moment for a special performance of the song 'Purify Me.'

India.Arie: Yes.

Tavis: So stay with us. India, in just a moment. Nice to see you.

India.Arie: Thank you. You, too.

Tavis: From the soundtrack for Tyler Perry's 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman,' here is India.Arie performing her hit song 'Purify Me.' Enjoy. Good night from Los Angeles, and keep the faith.