Ahya Simone

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Ahya Simone (born September 4, 1992) [1] is an American multidisciplinary artist. Based in Detroit, she is best known for her work as a harpist and for creating and starring in the web series pilot Femme Queen Chronicles. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Simone was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. [3] She grew up singing in the church choir and started to play harp as a student at Cass Technical High School when she was 16. [3]

While attending college at Wayne State University she came out as transgender. [3] She was the principal harpist for the university's symphony. [4]

Career

Music

After college Simone sought out ways to perform outside her previous experience as a classical musician. She began to cover r&b and soul music, and named Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, and as one of her biggest influences. [4] This led her to collaborate with fellow Detroiter dream hampton, to co-score hampton's short film Treasure (2018). [1] Simone received a Kresge Artist Fellowship in 2018 and was the first Black trans woman recipient. [5] That year she also teamed up with Kelela on Take Me a_Part, the Remixes . [1]

In addition to her work as a harpist, Simone is a singer-songwriter whose music fuses r&b, jazz, experimental, and electronic. [6] Simone released the single "Frostbite" in 2020. [7] She later released a music video for the song featuring local artists Kesswa and Supercoolwicked. [8] In 2021, she collaborated with cktrl on his single "mazes". [9]

Singles from Ahya Simone

  1. "Frostbite" released June 2020
  2. "Liminal" Feat. Tapiwa Svosve released December 31, 2024

Neptunian Blue EP

  • Released: January 8, 2025
  • Singles: Liminal feat. Tapiwa Svosve

Other work

In 2015 she co-founded the Trans Sistas of Color Project Detroit to provide support to trans women of color after the murder of Amber Monroe. [10] Through the organization she launched the comedy web series pilot Femme Queen Chronicles that follows four trans women in Detroit, which she likened to Living Single and Chewing Gum. [2] Simone developed the series in part to "disrupt the narrative of black tragedy without sanitizing the very real tragedies that happen to us." [10] She is the director, writer, and stars in the series. [2] Femme Queen Chronicles debuted in 2018 and received positive critical reception. [10] She received

financial support from the Knight Foundation to develop the series. [2] As of 2021, she is working with Janet Mock to adapt the show for television. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jossell, Shar (April 22, 2021). "Ahya Simone Is the Harpist and Filmmaker Telling Stories of Black Trans Womanhood". them. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Detroit's black trans women are launching a new comedic webseries". theneighborhoods.org. Archived from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Mejia, Mercedes (June 18, 2015). "Message of hope and healing for young transgender woman". Michigan Radio. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Harpist Ahya Simone Highlights Humor and Joy in Her Black Trans-Centered Webseries Femme Queen Chronicles". Audiofemme. April 7, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  5. ↑ Michael, Jason A. (September 5, 2018). "Ahya Simone wins Kresge Artist Fellowship". Pride Source. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  6. ↑ Drew, Kimberly (2020). Black Futures (1 ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN   978-0-399-18113-9. OCLC   1090279852.
  7. ↑ Bruce-Jones, Henry (October 12, 2020). "Ahya Simone reminds us that we need each other with 'Frostbite'". Fact Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  8. ↑ Kim, Michelle (October 12, 2020). "This Stunning Video from Harpist Ahya Simone Is an Ode to Community". them. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  9. ↑ "cktrl joins forces with harpist Ahya Simone for new track 'Mazes'". Crack Magazine. April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 Winn, Ashley (February 20, 2020). "Trans Sistas of Color Project Detroit's Co-founder on Art and Identity". Hour Detroit Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
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