MUMU FRESH

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

A Grammy-nominated singer, MC, songwriter, activist, and educator who’s been called a “quadruple threat” by The Roots’ Black Thought and “groundbreaking” by Oscar-winning artist Common, Maimouna Youssef (aka Mumu Fresh) possesses a diverse and wide-ranging musical background. Her music bridges Jazz, Gospel, Spirituals, traditional African & traditional Indigenous music, Hip Hop, Soul, rock and experimental a capella fusion. Her poetic lyrical prowess and dedication to activism, social justice, gender equity, environmental justice, and independence for artists have taken her around the globe not only as a musician but also as a thought leader and facilitator.

Born in Baltimore, raised in Philadelphia and Washington D.C., and a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Maimouna is of Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, and African American heritage. One of 14 kids, she grew up singing traditional Native American, Jazz, and Gospel music with her family and later discovered hip-hop in her teens, learning how to rap with the help of her older brother.

After developing a successful career writing, touring, and recording in support of other artists — including a Grammy nomination for her vocal contribution to “Don’t Feel Right” by The Roots in 2007 — Maimouna embarked on a solo career with the 2011 release The Blooming, followed by the mixtape The Reintroduction of Mumu Fresh. In 2017, she released the album Vintage Babies with DJ Dummy featuring Common, Irvin Washington, and Malik Yusef.

Maimouna performed alongside her mother, Grandmother Walks on Water at Harlem Stage on October 18, 2019, as a part of our Uptown Night Series. Mama Walks On Water, as many call her, is the fourth generation of Native American, African sound healing women in her family. She was taught by her Choctaw mother, Mountain Eagle Woman, and her Creek African grandmother to use the energy of sound to nourish the emotions, cleanse the spirit, and wake up the ancestral memory.

In 2017, Maimouna became a Musical Ambassador for the United States, traveling abroad to perform her music and speak on gender-based violence while facilitating workshops for youth. She has worked with the Congressional Black Caucus, The National Day of Racial Healing, performed at the BET Black Girls Rock! Awards, and represented the Washington DC chapter of the Recording Academy at the 2015 'GRAMMY Festival at Sea'. Maimouna also serves as a governor for the D.C. chapter of the Recording Academy Grammy Board and as a mentor for several Grammy U-affiliated young artists. In 2020, she founded “Muniversity Studies,” an online music education platform devoted to teaching aspiring artists how to reimagine the music business and thrive independently.

Maimouna has shared the stage with artists such as Sting, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Billy Ray Cyrus, MC Lyte, Brandy, Femi Kuti, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Raphael Saadiq, Nas, Burna Boy, the National Symphony Orchestra and Dave Chappelle. In 2022, she played a lead role in Black Thought’s Broadway musical “Black No More.”

From the archives of our Dive Deeper Conversation series, Maimouna Youssef discusses the importance of centering oneself, the role of music in activism, and the reclaiming of breaths stolen from Black lives.

Harlem Stage continues to host an array of diverse performances from Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous Artists from all corners of the world — including right here in New York. Stay up to date on upcoming live and digital performances by subscribing to our weekly newsletter.