Today, singer, rapper and producer HAWA releases her debut album HADJA BANGOURA via 4AD.
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“A single soft, dreamy sound palette throughout, mixing R&B with indie, gentle shades of IDM and faded half-memories of New York drill“
– Loud & Quiet (8/10)
“What’s immediately clear is that she has mastered many genres — dancehall, rap, and grime, to name a few — and can create a concentrated sound that makes people want to dance“
– The Cut
“HAWA embrace[s] leftfield hip hop and R&B, with a style that can be hard-hitting in one moment, and hazed-out, expressive, and romantic in the next”
– Dazed
“HAWA has had a meteoric rise through the music world…Now on the brink of releasing her first album, the rising star has more than earned her bravado“
– Them.
“Built on precision with an intricate soundscape and clever, boasting lyrics” – W Magazine
“As romantic as it is sexual” – Elle UK
“There’s more than enough versatility to guarantee HAWA’s place on any list of emerging stars” – Highsnobiety
“Her laidback genre-defying productions are set apart from the influx of lo-fi bulls**t thanks to a deeper understanding of musical elements” – i-D
“Subtly complex” – Pigeons & Planes
“Stirring prowess” – Office
“Worthy of obsessive repeat plays” – Jezebel
Album photography and design by Keenan MacWilliam
The album, named for HAWA’s great-grandmother who passed away last year, forms a vessel for healing as HAWA crafts a letter to herself through which to work past her toxic relationships. Its guiding light is the palpable, fierce confidence she inhabits as she comes to terms with her past, inspired by the resilient Hadja. On the album, HAWA creates a layered soundscape of “deconstructed club & 00’s R&B” (The FADER), infused with soul, indie and trap.
HADJA BANGOURA marks the rapid evolution of HAWA’s robust career – at 22, she has lived many lives as the youngest-ever composer for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, a teenaged rapper whose forceful, direct style earned major praise from NY Times, Pitchfork, W, Fader, and more, and as a close Telfar collaborator, traveling to Italy for a fiery performance at their Pitti Uomo runway show and starring in recent campaigns. The 11-track album follows singles “GEMINI,” “PROGRESSION” and “TRADE,” as well as 2021 single “Wake Up” and 2020 EP the ONE. HADJA BANGOURA, which boasts a sole feature from avant-garde pop artist Eartheater, is executive produced by Tony Seltzer.
HAWA – HADJA BANGOURA
4AD0492
1. INDYA
2. TRADE
3. GEMINI
4. ACTUALLY
5. EN ROUTE
6. MMMM
7. AIN’T U
8. 7 DEADLY SINS: LUST
9. PROGRESSION
10. CREDITS
11. EATER FT. EARTHEATER
Hawa has a handdful of upcoming tour dates planned, with more to be announced.
November 2022
4th – Pitchfork Festival, Berlin, Germany
16th – FiftyLAB, Brussels, Belgium
May 2023
10th – Corsica Studios, London, UK