aja monet

aja monet is a multidisciplinary artist in the finest sense of the word – a poet, writer, spoken-word virtuosa, cultural worker and activist based in Brooklyn. Her writings address the themes of injustice, persecution, resistance and systemic violence from East New York to Palestine, but also belonging, motherhood and notions of community. At age 19, she was the youngest ever Nuyorican Poets Café Grand Slam champion.

Her debut album, when the poems do what they do, (recorded in collaboration with a roster of esteemed musicians, most notably Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, and also Samora Pinderhughes, Marcus Gilmore ...) is a mind-altering spoken-word cry, encapsulating the vibrant essence of jazz. “These aren’t poems for poets, but poems for everyone.” Last year, it was nominated for a Grammy Best Spoken Word Poetry Album.