Written by: Leslie Celeste Alessandro / @iamlesliealessandro
Photo Credit: Michelle Honeycutt/ Shellshott Photography / @shellshotphotography
An icon in the making Mumu Fresh is a musical force to reckon with on Chasing Goosebumps II “ The Healing” by DJ Jazzy Jeff’s Playlist Collective which focuses on unique blends, global chants, and heartfelt soul.
A moment in musical history took place recently at the Clive Davis Theater in the world- famous Grammy Museum. A panel gathering of producers who took part in the Jazzy Jeff inspired Goosebumps II Playlist Collective were comprised of noted producers 14KT, Tiffany Gouche, Tec Beatz, Masego, Daniel Crawford along with mega singer and songwriter whom everyone was there to see, Mumu Fresh.
Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh is on the verge of stardom. Not in the traditional sense, but on a global and even planetary kind of way. She has a gift that travels light years beyond the stars if you will. To say her voice transports you doesn’t give it enough justice. It’s cosmic, cleansing, it rebirths, makes you face your fears, overcome and rise in a way that makes you feel selected, to bear witness to greatness in its divine form. This is Mumu Fresh.
Though she met Jazzy Jeff when she was eighteen years old and has worked with artist like Glen Lewis, Mumu Fresh is about to set the music scene ablaze in a galactical way that we haven’t seen since our introduction to Erykah Badu. One of the things I love about Mumu Fresh is her candor, accountability and unapologetic girlfriend realness. She’s family first and stays front and center in her reality because this is who she is. She’s had to get out of her own way, accept the divine gifts, move from the shadows into the light and accept that her time is now. With a renewed understanding of self, she recognizes that this is much bigger than her and that there is a higher purpose. She’s ready, but more importantly, she’s present. You can’t begin to understand the music or the artist until you understand the woman. This says a lot about Mumu Fresh.
Goosebumps II, part of the Playlist Collective, has an array of elements that is sure to soothe the mind. There’s essentials of African rhythms, house, hip hop, soul and all sorts of global strings and percussions. The production is a mash up of the past, present , and future, sort of a musical gumbo if you will that’s good for the soul. Chasing Rainbows one of the songs off the Goosebumps II Collective, is an introspective song with a Sanskrit intro that centers on toiling with internal struggles and ideas that may be in one’s mind that conflicts with the God given abundance that is not necessarily attached to a material need or want. Her melodic overtures and fresh rap delivery could have one if only for a moment be reminded of the depth of an early Lauren Hill. When asked how she’s grown as an artist since working on this project, Mumu states “that the biggest part is having collaborators because she’s never worked with other writers. Having Grammy Award winning writer producer Carvin Haggins to work with, and being told you’re in the studio so do you” was something she wasn’t use to as an artist.
Mumu also mentions that a lot of the concepts for her part are tied together and based on conversations, a variety of musicians and producers coming together.
Mumu’s track Loving You, showcases her ability to warm us with her textured melodic voice and rap chronicles. Her natural ability to segue between different musical love and life narratives in addition to her breakdown of social justice truths, provides a glimpse into her inner sanctum and storytelling. More than a singer, she’s a celestial being who has tapped into those things that make her whole. And though her journey is a tapestry of all that is the sum total of who she is in part, it is her essence and her belief system that is carried throughout the music that steers the listener in such a poetic and beautiful way.
At times, when you get beyond the well- crafted production of her fellow collaborators, you get the feeling that this project, The Healing is on the cusp of changing how we feel about current music and in many ways it has the ability to not only elevate our taste, but heal all of us at the same time.