GRAMMY®-Nominated Poet aja monet Reminds Us That Every Word Matters on the color of rain
"What a mighty wallop it packs. Words seduce, fly, spit and ricochet off an experimental jazz and soul bedrock with psychedelia bulging at its seams."
— Jazzwise
GRAMMY®-nominated poet aja monet has a way of putting words to feelings we don't always know how to express. On her second album, the color of rain, released on drink sum wtr, she brings poetry and music together in a way that feels both deeply personal and connected to the world around us. Co-produced with Meshell Ndegeocello and Justin Brown, the album moves between jazz, soul, hip-hop and R&B, with live musicians responding to the rhythm of her words. There are moments of anger, tenderness, uncertainty and hope, often within the same piece. At a time when so much of the world feels divided, monet asks us to pay attention, to question what we've been told and to remember our responsibility to one another. It's an album that doesn't simply ask to be heard. It asks us to listen.
On “working class musicians,” monet gives voice to the artists who dedicate their lives to making music, even when the work is difficult and the rewards uncertain. The song's lively rhythm offers a contrast to the realities she's describing. “hollyweird” and “melting clocks,” the latter featuring Mick Jenkins and Vic Mensa, bring her surrealist approach to the forefront, while “elsewhere,” featuring Meshell Ndegeocello and Georgia Anne Muldrow, adds another dimension to the album's musical conversations. “to sister,” featuring Ganavya and Brandee Younger, and “love is a choosing,” featuring Mereba, offer moments to reflect on connection and the ways we care for one another. Throughout the album, monet reminds us that poetry doesn't have to live quietly on a page. It can challenge, comfort, confront and celebrate. And when paired with music this thoughtfully arranged, her words have even more room to breathe.
aja monet is a poet, musician, community organizer whose work has long connected art with social change. She became the youngest recipient of the Nuyorican Grand Slam Poetry title, developing her voice in the poetry clubs of New York City's Lower East Side. Her first poetry collection, my mother was a freedom fighter, earned an NAACP Image Award nomination, while her debut poetry album, when the poems do what they do, received a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album. Her honors also include the Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award and the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award. Beyond her writing and performances, she serves as Artistic Creative Director for V-Day, a global movement working to end violence against women and girls. Her latest poetry collection, florida water, draws on her years living and organizing in South Florida. Whether she's standing on a stage, working within a community or putting pen to paper, monet understands that words carry weight. And with the color of rain, she reminds us that they can also carry us toward something better.
For more information visit ajamonet.com.
REVIEWS
"Commands the distinction with its dreamlike tangle of genre-a ideas."
—The New Yorker
"aja monet's vision of poetry is anchored in history, still utterly of-the-moment, and writing the future."
—BET
"Her words evoke the presence of rain itself: strong enough to change the tides, and gentle enough to relieve weary spirits."
—The Line of Best Fit
"She pulls together threads from traditionally separate disciplines to create work that feels like it cannot be contained..."
—The Guardian
"A beautiful nest that i want to crawl into, it feels like a spiritual slumber party"
—NPR
"Rain makes a nice metaphor for the stylings of Grammy nominee Aja Monet: jazz, soul, hip hop, and blues all refract through the prism of her poetic constructions, revealing new shades of her sound while maintaining a unifying fluidity and immersiveness."
—Pitchfork
