As
I stepped into Jessie Mae Hemphill's trailer, my eyes fell upon
Sweet Pea (her dog) and a revolver. By the end of that first
meeting, I couldn't help thinking that this was the allure of
Jessie Mae. She is sweetness incarnate, but you really wouldn't
want to mess with her either.
This
same duality is present in her music. Listen to her voice and
you can hear a lilting quality, bringing to mind a Billie Holiday.
But listen to the lyrics and you sense a woman who's seen a
thing or two of the world. As she pulled a hollow-tip bullet
out of her blouse she spoke loudly so the young punks hanging
out near her trailer could hear. "A bullet like this one here
will put a hole in you this big," she said, making a circle
with her good arm.
