arts
March 30, 2026
'African people are surreal': songwriter and blues poet Aja Monet on Black resistance and love as spiritual warfare
Radicalised by the inventiveness of groups such as the Harlem Renaissance, the LA-based musician is determined to reclaim the radical possibilities of culture in an age of institutional and algorithmic exploitation
TL;DR
- Aja Monet describes herself as a surrealist blues poet, with her new album 'The Color of Rain' influenced by surrealism's historical use in response to fascism.
- Her work explores themes of love, resistance, and the absurdity of current times, offering a counter-narrative to establishment power.
- Monet views African people and their experiences through a surrealist lens, seeing racism and sexism as inherently absurd.
- She draws inspiration from the Négritude movement and the Harlem Renaissance, identifying surrealism as a space for 'insurgent consciousness'.
- Monet criticizes how cultural institutions and algorithms can lead to division and control, turning art forms like hip-hop into mere modes of entertainment for capitalism.
- Her personal experiences with systemic racism, including her uncle's incarceration, inform her understanding of a system not built for Black dignity.
- She found community and purpose in poetry cafes, which became her 'church' for discussing social justice issues like rape, assault, and gender justice.
- Monet's work addresses issues of race, colonialism, and inequality globally, inspired by her teenage friendship with Palestinian poet Tahani Salah.
- Beyond her artistic career, she works full-time as the artistic creative director for V-Day, an organization dedicated to ending violence against women and girls.
- Monet emphasizes love as a core value for resisting adversity and sees poetry as a structuring force that informs her worldview and relationships.
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