Creative Relationships
Muldrow’s childhood developed her urgent desire to help all people reconnect with ancient wisdom and further the cause of social justice. Her music is lyrically and stylistically focused on linking modern American audiences with pre-colonial Africa and other indigenous peoples’ cultures. Muldrow is convinced that encouraging more knowledge about the history of these groups will help to heal the wounds of racism, injustice, war and ecological destruction.

“The European structure is too immature to even grasp what this whole reality is truly about.” Muldrow says. “That’s the reason why we don’t got no clean air.”

Muldrow explored these themes in her previous releases, Worthnothings EP (2006), Olesi: Fragments of an Earth (2006), and Sagala (2007). And they earned her plenty of critical acclaim from the “modern structure.” Before long she was one of the rising stars at Stones Throw Records, working with other artists on the label like Madlib and Dudley Perkins, who is also known by his stage name, Declaime.

In fact, Perkins became much more than a musical collaborator. Their creative relationship sparked a powerful romance. Perkins and Muldrow became a duo as the group G&D and released Message Uni Versa in 2007. “[She’s] that extra funk ingredient I need to make peace soup,” Perkins says.

Perkins and Muldrow launched Someothaship Records together in 2009, issuing Muldrow’s Umsindo and Perkins’ latest record, Holy Smokes. The couple released another collaborative album called SomeOthaShip on February 16. At the same time, they’re also building a family together. The couple welcomed a newborn child, Nokware Declaime, earlier last year. But raising a family hasn’t slowed her down at all.

Not Afraid To Bloom
Muldrow combines motherhood with her work as a musician on a daily basis. She produces and records music at a studio located in her Inglewood, California home, giving her the freedom to work and spend time with her children. Not surprisingly, kids feature prominently in her recent releases. “I’m a 24-hour mom,” Muldrow says. “I bring that energy to the music completely. Your whole life has to be a song,” Muldrow says.

Her sincerity and dedication to her craft are certainly paying royal dividends. In September 2009, music imprint Epistrophik Peach Sound released Muldrow’s Eagle Nebula’s Cosmic Headphones Instrumentals. Another imprint, Animated Cartunes, released Early, a collection of recordings from her teens, in November 2009. She’s also appeared on Ubiquity artists Bei Bei and Shawn Lee’s single, “Make Me Stronger.”

Despite the innovation involved in her song-writing and production style, Muldrow sees herself as maintaining an ancient musical tradition. She says her ancestors transmit their raw authenticity into her music. “[They] keep me from selling out.”

But even as she taps into old traditions, Muldrow also strives to impart the knowledge of her elders to her children’s generation. She’s intent on teaching the world’s children “that they are not alone – that that they are supported by the ancestors to affect the change that needs to be witnessed here.” And nothing will hold her back.

“If I’m scared to manifest my true goddess nature, then I don’t deserve to be around. That’s like a flower being afraid to bloom.”

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