Akua Naru (also known as Akua Olatunji), is a rapper from

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United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Naru has been particularly successful in Europe, where she has lived since 2008. Her hip-hop music incorporates styles including soul and jazz. In 2018 she began archiving the achievements of women in hip-hop at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

as a Nasir Jones Hip-hop Fellow at the Hip-hop Archive Research Institute.

Life

Naru was born and raised in

in a family that went to church and played gospel music. At the age of nine, Naru's uncle introduced her to hip hop music. It was Akua's grandmother who took her to church, where she met strong, assertive women in the community, which led to her interest in the revolutionary ideas of

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

and

Assata Shakur Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947; also married name, JoAnne Chesimard) is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1977, she was convicted in the first-degree murder ...

. By the time Naru completed her formal education at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, she had learned her skills as a member of a repertory company where she was able to use recording equipment and perform publicly. Akua left the U.S. to travel to China, ultimately moving to Cologne, Germany, in 2011, where she created her first album "The Journey Aflame" which was produced by "The Drumkidz". Later that year Naru returned to the USA on a 22-date tour. Naru's work is inspired by

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...

and the history of Black women in the United States. Akua Naru has been a guest speaker at universities throughout the US, Germany, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, and Sudan. She has performed on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Africa.

Discography

Her Digflo Band in 2015 ;EP * 2011 : ''Poetry: How Does It Feel?'' ;Albums * 2011 : ''The Journey Aflame'' * 2012 : ''The Live & Aflame Sessions'' * 2015 : ''The Miner's Canary'' * 2018 : ''The Blackest Joy''''
''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naru, Akua Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women singers American women rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century women rappers