aja monet

aja monet is a Surrealist Blues Poet in the business of goosebumps and heart-gut-telling truths. Her debut poetry album released in 2023 on Drink Sum Wtr -  when the poems do what they do - explored themes of resistance, love, and the inexhaustible quest for joy, and was nominated at the 66th GRAMMY Awards for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album in 2024.

aja’s second studio album,the color of rain, builds on the intimate, live-forward energy of her debut, but expands her practice into a more layered and exploratory body of work, blending poetry with jazz, soul, hip-hop, rhythm and blues, and experimental production. Where the debut centered performance and immediacy, the color of rain turns inward. The album reflects the present political and social moment while focusing on interior life, memory, and responsibility.

Live instrumentation anchors the record, led by musical director Meshell Ndegeocello, with drummer Justin Brown shaping much of its rhythmic foundation. The project brings together a wide-ranging group of collaborators, including Burniss Travis, Josh Johnson, Daniel Mintseris, Jermaine Paul, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Nico Segal.

the color of rain places aja monet firmly within a lineage of artists who move between poetry and music with intention and discipline. The album favors focus over excess and asks listeners not only to hear the work, but to sit with it.