Grammy win plays second fiddle to Chev honour, says Autumn Rowe

For music producer, songwriter, and performer Autumn Rowe, winning a Grammy for Best Album of the Year was her second-best moment, but being brought to South Africa by the Chevrah Kadisha to talk to 996 Jewish women last week was her best.

When she won the Grammy, she thought it was the “best moment” of her life, until she was  embraced by the Chev, brought into its magnanimous fold, and shown the “true meaning of community”.

“I thought my greatest honour would be winning the biggest music award on music’s biggest night but then the Chev came along,” said Rowe at the Chev’s fundraiser last Thursday, 17 November, at the Sandton Convention Centre.

In keeping with her award-winning song titled We Are, the theme for the evening reflected the lyrics of the chorus, “We are the golden ones.”

Rowe, who is the embodiment of triumph over adversity, revealed to the audience her closely guarded childhood traumas. “Tonight is by far the biggest honour of my life, being in South Africa – a lifelong dream – and the most special thing I’ve ever had happen,” she said.

“I wonder if my mother and I had help from an organisation like the Chev how much easier my journey would have been,” she told the SA Jewish Report, recalling a childhood spent in the South Bronx with her Jewish mother, where they were very poor and often alone.

“The Chev cares for all people. I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t know of any organisations like this back home, we really need it,” she said.

Until this week, Rowe shied away from revealing too much about her past because she said she didn’t want people to feel sorry for her or think less of her. “I also wanted to wait until there was a happy ending, as the world often feels sad enough,” she said.

After a lifetime of struggle, perseverance, and determination to succeed, Rowe recently won a Grammy for We Are, with Jon Batiste, at the 64th Grammy Awards, where she was nominated for four awards. She co-wrote five of the winning album’s 13 tracks.

Not only is this a happy ending, it appears to be the beginning of infinite possibilities for the glamorous vocal coach, vocalist, and DJ, who has worked her way up through the unforgiving ranks in the most competitive industry of all.

Her father was a drug addict, and when she was five years old, it became clear to her that no one was coming to help them.

“The streets were filled with colourful little bottles that looked like candy to a child but were in fact filled with crack,” she recalls.

There were drug dealers on every corner and violent gangs. It was a time of fear and isolation, in which she and her mother were homeless for many years, living in shelters and washing in church bathrooms.

“Still, I was full of hope I’d get out of there one day,” she said.

In one of the projects where she lived, she often heard hip-hop and rhythm and blues coming from the park. “I was always drawn to the music,” she said.

She attended a school for gifted children. At 16, she decided to focus on a career in music. It was tough and gruelling.

“I never gave up, and continued to throw myself into the music industry. There was no Plan B.”

Working dozens of jobs, she relentlessly kept writing and performing for 12 years, wondering as she approached 30 if she’d ever get a lucky break. Eventually, Rowe wrote the dance anthem, Happiness, behind the 2010 FIFA World Cup, featuring Alexis Jordan.

“That song changed my life,” she said.

As a celebrated vocal coach, she appeared in season two of The X Factor, and has been the only vocal coach on America’s Got Talent for five years, working with Simon Cowell. She’s also an accomplished DJ, having attended DJ school at the age of 35 and becoming engrossed in music production. She’s now a big cheese in the industry with her Diana Ross single, I Still Believe, recently remixed, and collaborations with some of the industry’s biggest names including Dua Lipa, Pitbull, and Zendaya under her belt.

“At 40, I won my first Grammy. This made me the second black woman ever to win as a producer for album of the year, and the first black Jewish woman to win,” she said proudly.

“I had so many reasons to give up, but I didn’t,” she said, saying she hopes her story inspires people to keep going.

“Our circumstances don’t have to determine where we end up, but they might force us to find a more creative way to figure out where we want to go. We’re bigger than our obstacles, nothing is as beautiful as the human spirit,” Rowe said.

There have been many highlights visiting South Africa, she said, including meeting members of the Jewish community, seeing the inspiring work of the Chev, visiting Constitution Hill, listening to Albie Sachs – “a lifetime highlight” – visiting the Kruger Park, and eating her first Friday night dinner at Robbie Brozin’s house.

Her mother, Meg Fischgrund, and her husband, Even Stenvold Tysse, accompanied her to South Africa.

“My childhood was so rough, I was always in a bit of a survival state. There wasn’t room for much tradition. I didn’t spend much time thinking about my identity or what it was to be Jewish or black. That’s a luxury. I just accepted that I’m both. My mom said we were Jewish because she is, so that was that. She raised me by herself, that’s all I knew. Our roots are from Austria and Hungary.

”Once things settled, my mom incorporated a menorah and we had our version of Chanukah sometimes. My mom didn’t grow up in a healthy household herself, so she wasn’t raised with many traditions. Forming my own extended family as an adult, having Shabbat with friends, and learning through books, has been amazing,” Rowe said.

She said what most resonated with her about South Africa was the word “community”. “It’s felt here in the most literal sense. To see the love in the Jewish community, togetherness, and warmth is truly special.

“It’s a place like no other, and has touched me beyond [imagining]. Everyone told me that South Africa would be a life-changing experience, but I didn’t expect to gain a whole family. The Chev is now a part of my family. There’s a healing energy here which the world needs.”

As an accomplished songwriter, Rowe feels that she now has a platform to speak out against racism and antisemitism in a fractured world where she’s both black and Jewish, giving her a unique perspective, but it’s no easy task and a constant work in progress.

“As if this trip wasn’t special enough, I created a song I love so much with musicians Msaki and Jesse Clegg for The Chev which is filled with love of South Africa. I can’t wait to share this song with the world.”