Jamila Woods is an artist.
More than a songwriter, more than a lyricist or vocalist – although she's all of those things – Jamila Woods creates art, multi-dimensional, probing, emotive documents.
New album 'LEGACY! LEGACY!' arrives on May 10th, and it finds Jamila reflecting on the artists who inspire her, and in turn using this inspiration to forge something new.
Poet Hanif Abdurraqib completed the label bio for Jamila Woods, and it's worth repeating this passage: "More than just giving the song titles the names of historical black and brown icons of literature, art, and music, Jamila Woods builds a sonic and lyrical monument to the various modes of how these icons tried to push beyond the margins a country had assigned to them…"
Lead track 'ZORA' is online now, a highly driven, potent, precise piece of music. The performance video was directed by Vincent Martell of VAM STUDIO and filmed in the Johnson Publishing Archives at Chicago’s Stony Island Arts Bank; in addition to this the video features Jamila performing while surrounded by artefacts from the historic Black-owned publishing company.
Jamila comments: "My weaponry is my energy… An antidote for the feeling of being judged on first glance. A salve for when people think they know you better than you know yourself."
"It's about refusing to be essentialized and not allowing your identity to be put in a box. You contain multitudes. You are ever-evolving. A song to get free from stereotypes and assumptions, inspired by the writing of Zora Neale-Hurston.”
Watch it now.
Photo Credit: Bradley Murray
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