Eschewing genres in the search for new sounds, Moor Mother (poet / activist / musician Camae Ayewa) has created some of the most radical, inventive, and fascinating music of the last few years. After growing up in Aberdeen, Maryland, she studied photography at the Art Institute in Philadelphia. Ayewa formed many musical groups while living in the city – Mighty Paradocs, Girls Dressed as Girls, Black Quantum Futurism – tackling rap, punk, and various art forms with a singular yet communally-minded creative approach. Her albums under Moor Mother have been just as varied and vast in historical scope, poetic depth, and musical range. In 2016, the release of her debut studio album Fetish Bones was accompanied by a full-length book of poetry and met with widespread critical acclaim. In the years since, she has released several projects under several names and collaborated with the rappers Pink Siifu and Billy Woods. Her 2022 project Jazz Codes featured multiple Philadelphia artists including Orion Sun and justmadenice.
“GUILTY”, Moor Mother’s newest single, features vocals from experimental artist Lonnie Holley and New York singer-songwriter Raia Was. This track announces the upcoming album, The Great Bailout, set to be released on March 8th by Anti-. It will explore the history of colonialism and its continued effects on modern times – huge subjects explored through a powerful, spoken-word performance on this first single. Ayewa repeats the question “Did you pay off the trauma?” and later continues: “taxpayers of erasure, of relapse, of amnesia, paying the crimes off – guilty”. Producer Mary Lattimore’s haunting harp playing and mournful strings create the sonic bed for these probing questions of racial injustice. The song was released with a flickery, colorful lyric video created by Scott Kiernan. It is another profoundly moving musical release from Moor Mother, an endlessly eclectic, enormously experimental artist whose work captures the boundless creative spirit of Philly music.