Recorded April 30th, 2022

To put it simply, Mayyadda is a vibe. We had this interview after she had been up all night from a gig in Duluth with her band, drove her drummer to catch a flight, and make it back to the cities and still have this conversation with me. Not only that, but within the first few minutes asked me if it was ok to swear on the program, which to me is a huge sign of respect even though we had just met.

I first heard about Mayyadda through producer Andre Mariette. After catching a track he had produced of hers, I did like any good music nerd does nowadays and played through the albums on my streaming service. A few of her songs, including Cinammon and Same Room, got stuck in my head after a few play throughs. This being just before I started the podcast, she was certainly on my list of "artists who I hope will say yes" to an interview.

A daughter of Liberian refugees who fled from the civil war, she had to find her own way coming up from a more traditional Catholic background. Her voice has always been strong, and was strenghtened through choirs while also learning piano at an early age (starting at 2!).  This was carried on through her attendance at Duke University where her vocal group, Rhythm & Blue, was where a lot of her time was spent learning to work with a group. Nearing the end of college she came to a crossroads, a desk job just would not be a path Mayyadda could pursue without giving up a big part of herself or taking a chance on herself with music. With the aid of friends and producer Don Strong she was able to record her first studio album and light up a path that was really meant for her.

As I mention in the intro, I stumble a little in this conversation but it is still an important one to have. There were a number of other questions I still had, like how the writing and recording process is leading up to and during recording, working with multiple producers..but perhaps I can ask in person.

Check out Dessa's podcast, Deeply Human, the Sad Music episode to hear some more thoughts on emotions in music from Mayyadda.

Here is also the article I reference in the interview: https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/singer-songwriter-mayyadda-explores-new-sound-and-shows-black-musicians-are-not-a-monolith/

Track List: Black Girl Magic (Acoustic Remix 2022), Human (Holding Space), Cracked Chest (Try&Remember), Yesterdays to Tomorrows (Try&Remember), Sick and Tired (Holding Space), Same Room (eightynine) Soul (Try&Remember)

Links:

Linktr.ee/mayyadda

Instagram: @mayyadda

Tiktok: mayyadda8

mayyadda.bandcamp.com

If you have any thoughts feels free to hit me up at the email mnmusicmakers22@gmail.com or Instagram @mnmusic makers

Thanks for listening!