AKUA NARU – ‘Somebody Mama’ : new single by US rapper out 08.03.24

akua naru | Somebody Mama single artwork
akua naru
SOMEBODY MAMA

new single
out 08.03.24
(OHA! Music/Membran)

included on
ALL ABOUT LOVE: NEW VISIONS
new album
2xLP | digital
out 05.04.24

also includes
POETRY: HOW DOES IT FEEL???
[All About Love Version]
feat. TAKUYA KURODA & EDSON SEAN
stream | audio

UK TOUR | APRIL 2024
22.04.24  BRISTOL Lantern Hall TICKETS
23.04.24  LEEDS Headrow House TICKETS
24.04.24  MANCHESTER The Blues Kitchen TICKETS
25.04.24  LONDON Jazz Cafe TICKETS

akua naru | 2024 photo

akua naru is a rapper whose distinctive brand of hip-hop incorporates Soul, Jazz and Blues elements. Her new album, ‘All About Love: New Visions’, is both inspired by and an ode to the late Black feminist icon bell hooks and her classic text ‘All About Love’, which examines society and its ideals of love.

To honour and take up hooks’ understanding of ‘love as a practice of freedom’, especially in the present day, naru has realised a new vision for her love songs, which have been recorded live by a large band with additional embellishment from Ensemble Resonanz, one of the world’s best known chamber orchestras.

The album sees naru reimagine fan favourites like ‘Poetry: How Does It Feel?’ and ‘Seraphim’, alongside deep cuts such as ‘(Love) Right Now’, ‘Joy’ and ‘Run Away’. An exploration of all the various iterations of love, the record also includes new tracks that among other things celebrate the enduring power of unconditional love through the tenderness of motherhood. An emotional audio experience for those who understand the urgent and fortifying power of love, it is also intended to provide a sonic balm to listeners, especially during these dark and troubled times.

One of naru’s new songs, ‘Somebody Mama’, has been released as a single today to coincide with International Women’s Day. Equipped with a killer bassline, an irresistible groove and a chorus full of joy and positive vibes, it can be heard HERE.

akua naru | All About Love: New Visions album artwork

Perhaps best described as a global poet, naru entered the music scene with ‘The Journey Aflame’, her 2011 debut album that revealed a titanic force of Liberation politics with beats, a true wordsmith whose deeply nuanced, poetic and wise music centred the experience of Black women through rhyme via a sonic spectrum from Jazz to Soul. Dubbed the ‘Toni Morrison of Hip-Hop’ by American philosopher Cornel West, who recognised a kinship with the acclaimed novelist, naru’s subsequent journey has indeed been set aflame and she has to date issued two more acclaimed studio albums: ‘The Miner’s Canary’ (2015) and ‘The Blackest Joy’ (2018).

naru has also collaborated with fellow musical luminaries that include Tony Allen, Eric Benét, Angelique Kidjo, Tuneyards, Questlove, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Christian Scott, Rah Digga, Mulatu Astatke, Bernard Purdie and Cody ChesnuTT. Known for her electrifying live shows, she has performed in 50+ countries across five continents with her band. Her lyrical and musical artistry is a testament to the legacy of the powerful and trailblazing Black female artist tradition upon which it builds.

ALL ABOUT LOVE: NEW VISIONS
TRACKLISTING
1 Urgency 1:09
2 (Love) Right Now [All About Love Version] 3:44
3 Joy [All About Love Version] 4:24
4 Sugar (Honeyicetea) [All About Love Version] 5:09
5 Falling [All About Love Version] 5:21
6 Run Away [All About Love Version] 3:50
7 Somebody Mama 4:32
8 Surrender (Masi’s Joint) 1:05
9 The Question 3:24
10 Mr. Brownskin [All About Love Version] 3:54
11 Seraphim [All About Love Version] 5:24
12 Poetry: How Does It Feel??? [All About Love Version] 7:29
13 Affirmation 0:55

akua naru | 2024 photo