Today, singer, rapper and producer HAWA releases the video for ‘Trade’ off her debut album HADJA BANGOURA, which dropped last week via 4AD. The tactile video is produced in collaboration with Telfar.
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.
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Album photography and design by Keenan MacWilliam
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 handful of upcoming tour dates planned, with more to be announced.
November 2022
16th – FiftyLAB, Brussels, Belgium
May 2023
10th – Corsica Studios, London, UK