With a sonic palette as wide-reaching as that of Georgia Anne Muldrow, it was almost impossible to know how her Influences podcast might sound. Would it take us into the mind-bending hip-hop of her Ms. One project, or be centered upon the brash instrumental beats she showcases across her VWETO beat tapes? What about the funk and soul she released on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label in 2018, earning herself a Grammy nomination in the “Best Urban Contemporary” category, and mirroring the magic of her debut solo album on Stones Throw. You might even expect something like the world of Jyoti, her infrequently used vehicle for jazzier sounds. Muldrow, let’s not forget, has been surrounded by jazz music her whole life, with her father, guitarist Ronald Muldrow, playing aside Eddie Harris and her mother, Rickie Byars, performing as a lead singer for Pharoah Sanders Ensemble.

Instead of choosing one part of her musical heritage and peeling back its layers, Muldrow uses this Influences platform as a dedication to Black women across the musical spectrum, who have inspired her life more generally, beyond her music. As James Baldwin famously said, to be Black living in America “and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost all of the time,” and yet 60 years later, that rage lives on, demonstrated so tragically with the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Tayler, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade. Against a backdrop of this senseless violence, these women stand up and their work is much “too beautiful to be denied.” Across its 45-minutes runtime, it covers all Muldrow’s music touch-points but that must not blunt its message.

“This is a mix dedicated to Black women all over the spectrum of music. I just wanted to show love to people who I know, people who I don’t know so well, people who show support to me, people who are just amazing. And trust me, there are many more mixes to come, because I feel as though we are just too beautiful to be denied. So here’s to all the sisters in the world. Here’s to you; you’re beautiful. Keep jammin’. Keep jammin’.” — Georgia Anne Muldrow

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Tracklisting

01. Shaun Ross “Shift1” feat. Ursula Rucker (JEX Records)
02. Rickiebyars “Star Above” (Someothaship)
03. Tekitha “Emotional” (Antipodes Music)
04. Georgia Anne Muldrow “Always” (Rush Hour Music)
05. Latoiya Williams “Vintage Love (LaToiya Williams Entertainment)
05. Jaime Coryn Woods & Melissa Poliwar “Inner Me” (INgrooves/Universal Music Group)
06. Tiombe Lockhart “Gon Git Cha” (Lockhart Dynasty)
07. Rolynne “Don’t Lose Your Heart” (Rolynné Media)
08. Renee Neufville “Something to Believe” (WJ3 Records)
09. Donn T & Georgia Anne Muldrow “Can’t Let Go” (Epistrophik Peach Sound)
10. Teedra Moses “Make Me” (eOne Music Canada)
11. Hiatus Kaiyote “Red Room” (Brainfeeder)
12. Yameen “Light of Love” feat. Lady Alma & Shock G (Ropeadope Digital)
13. Georgia Anne Muldrow “Unforgettable” (Foreseen Entertainment)