Joy Harjo. Photo by Matika Wilbur

MUSIC News:

Joy Harjo—the musician, activist, member of the Muscogee Nation, and the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States—is out today with “My Guy”, the latest single from her upcoming album, Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace, out April 24 on Smithsonian Folkways.

Listen to “My Guy” here.

Produced by Grammy award-winning composer, bassist, producer, educator, and vocalist Esperanza Spalding, the new record moves fluidly between jazz, poetry, rock, and Native musical traditions while reflecting on collective upheaval, ancestral memory, and the enduring power of art to bear witness and create change. The eighth track on the collection, “My Guy” stands out as one of the most intimate, personal moments on the album.

Written by Harjo’s mother, who composed music in the 1950s and ’60s but, due to the norms and demands of the era, was never able to pursue music full-time, “My Guy” is reimagined here as a jazz-inflected love song, brought to life through Spalding’s vocals and Harjo’s alto sax. 

Honoring both familial history and the album’s broader themes of inheritance and artistic continuity, Harjo commented “My mother would be so honored and thrilled to hear how Esperanza makes vocal art of her songwriting art. What a pairing!”