Aja Monet: From bard to bandleader

In this edition of our Arts24 music show, Jennifer Ben Brahim chats with poet and activist Aja Monet. She started putting pen to paper at just eight years old, thanks to a fascination with storytelling and typewriters. Her poetry has garnered critical acclaim, such as the collection “My Mother was a Freedom Fighter”. Her activism has taken her from New York to Palestine. Aja’s debut album “When the Poems Do What They Do” is a fluid blend of poetry and jazz. It is also an ode to some of the greats from the Black Arts Movement like Nikki Giovanni and Amiri Baraka. Aja described how she felt like a “spiritual archivist” when putting together the album. She is on tour in Europe with the record and is set to drop a new collection of poetry entitled “Florida Waters” this June.