Photo by Fanny Chu
Surrealist blues poet and organizer aja monet has released another gripping single, “why my love?” from her forthcoming album when the poems do what they do, releasing June 9 via drink sum wtr, a new imprint of All Flowers Group. Accompanied with a visualizer directed by aja herself, “why my love?” began as a list poem detailing the many ways love manifests, centering on the love between Black women and men while speaking to the struggle of loving and being loved. Weedie Braimah anchors this single, wrapped lovingly in Samora’s Pinderhughes’ delicate piano chords, as aja speaks of honest, accountable devotion. She notes, “This song embodies the energy and sentiment of our innermost feelings, a musical ode to our healing relationships.”
Stream “why my love?”
As illustrated in her recent releases “the devil you know,” “castaway,” and “for sonia” when the poems do what they do centers around the many facets of the human experience, from expressions of joy and beauty to the revelations of love to the community state of oneness. The album showcases monet’s relentless promise to truth with the lyrics encompassing opposite ends of the emotional spectrum from hope to despair. The body of work sets a new pinnacle for monet’s illustrious career, whose previous honors include the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award for Poetry in 2019 and an NAACP Literary Award nomination for Poetry in 2018.
Pre-save / pre-order when the poems do what they do
