As a new charismatic voice of an increasingly activist America, poet aja monet is presenting her fantastic second album.

With several books under her belt, aja monet is using music to extend her writing and political activism on behalf of the African American community, both of which trace back to the mid-2000s in New York – where she collaborated with Saul Williams – and continue in Los Angeles, where she lives today. Published in 2023, when the poems do what they do embraces rhythm and poetry tucked into texts delivered with soft yet solid energy. Enveloping melodies and arrangements – drums, percussion, flute, piano, harp, double bass, and trumpet – come together for a spiritual jazz imbued with soul and blues. Released in May after being led by two strikingly different singles (“hollyweird”, a resolutely Afropunk bomb, and “elsewhere”, smooth groove written as a tribute to Sly Stone), her second album, the color of rain, continues to expand the scope of possibilities.