Lady Blackbird SPREADING HER WINGS

After years as a session vocalist, the LA-based singer stunned the jazz world with her raw vocal power on her 2021 debut album. Here she talks fate, freedom and the shock of success.

- STEPHANIE PHILLIPS

Sometimes everything you need to know is in a name. L.A.-based soul singer Lady Blackbird’s moniker references the jazz-era greats she’s already been compared to—legends such as Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. Listen to her 2021 debut album, Black Acid Soul, and those comparisons quickly become clear when you hear her emotive growl of a voice.

Born Marley Munroe to an evangelical Christian family in Farmington, New Mexico, she trudged the circuit for years as a session singer, performing everything from alt-pop to Christian rock. Her big break came after she began working with friend and Grammynominated producer Chris Seefried, recording her vocals a cappella and letting her backing band build the music around her. The first result of this was her interpretation of Nina Simone’s song Blackbird.” Despite being recorded a year earlier, its release in 2020 coincided with the immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, bringing a somber contemporary context to the song about Black womanhood.

As Lady Blackbird readies herself for a new stage in her career, the Grace Jones of jazz” talks about things finally falling into place.