How did Mumu Fresh, real name Maimouna Youssef, get here?
The Baltimore-raised, Grammy®-nominated singer, songwriter, activist, and – yes – emcee has finally hit her stride. Mumu is like a meteorite with the ability to strike the Earth multiple time with increasing force. But said force is not the sort that causes mayhem, panic destruction, or ice ages. On the contrary, the queen and self-proclaimed rap god is the sort of artist that enters (and re-enters) the Hip-Hop atmosphere offering peace, knowledge, and light.
Mumu Fresh can rap in a hardcore cipher as she did with Kool G Rap, Black Thought and Talib Kweli at the Dave Chapelle Block Party or she can rock a concert with her band. She went from stanning for Lauryn Hill to fill a void left by the reclusive high priestess of rap. With, “Vintage Babies II: Queen Of Culture,” she does just that. She pulls from everything, From D-Smoke to the ancestors, to create one of the most culturally driven, thoughtful, and revolutionary albums this year. She’s not going against the grain…she is her own grain. Songs like “Work,” “Rap God,” and “Back To The Money” pave the way for Mumu and partner-in-crime DJ Dummy to present a new sound and refreshing options for culture starving for new sounds to consume.
Mumu Fresh and Chuck Creekmur aka Jigsaw chop it up over a myriad of topics…for the culture.