Ami Taf Ra's Debut Album Infuses a Century-Old Conversation with Song
North African born, LA-based singer songwriter Ami Taf Ra fans the flame of creativity with a deep admiration of the world's histories and cultures studied throughout her life as a nomadic musician. Having called places like Morrocco, Cairo, Istanbul, Portugal, Amsterdam and now the City of Angels home, she references these lessons of humanity using the language of her Moroccan Gnawa heritage, spiritual jazz , and rich Arabic music tradition to honor the Black American art form and in the case of her upcoming debut album, immersive texts she has meditated on throughout her life.
For the past 5 years she has been exploring the ancestral practice of music composition in the creation of The Prophet and The Madman, set to release August 22. It was crafted during the pandemic with producer and beloved musical collaborator Kamasi Washington during their pregnancy while stuck in Amsterdam. As the world's fast-paced nature took a pause, they immersed themselves in Khalil Gibran’s classic yet timely texts The Madman (1918) and The Prophet (1923) and transcended them into an otherworldly, haunting musical interpretation of the inner chaos and clarity we are pulled towards and away from as humans, diving into motifs like separation, loss, and longing.
Now in 2025, Ami Taf Ra argues these writings are just as important and relevant today as they were over 100 years ago. “I always, knew about Kahlil Gibran's work, but through music, you know, and when you get older and older and you start reading more about his work. He wrote this 100 years ago, right... But they're so needed right now, presently, they're so, so important for us as humans to live by his teachings of all the themes of the world, you know, of life.” The singles "Love," "How I Became a Madman," and most recently "The Prophet" give us a glimpse into this storytelling album that Ami Taf Ra is eager to share with the world, a conversation between the Prophet and a Madman, in which the latter sometimes ends up being the wisest person in the room.
Abi Clark caught up with Ami Taf Ra at the 2025 Telluride Jazz Festival, where she was sharing a glimpse into her upcoming album while on tour with Kamasi Washington.
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