Jamila Woods on Using Black Legends As Muses

Jamila Woods’s sophomore album, Legacy Legacy, due May 10, functions as a tribute to black writers and musicians who came before her. Each track is named after—and devoted to—legends identifiable by one name: Giovanni, Zora, Betty, Miles.

“It’s kind of delving deeper into: who are the people who helped me think about what it means to be black, what it means to be a black woman, what it means to be a black artist,” she told Jezebel.

In the video above, Woods explains her creative process, the comfort of poetry, and continuing to discover her blackness.