# Moses Sumney
**Moses Sumney** (born 1992 in [San Bernardino, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-bernardino-california)) is a Ghanaian-American singer, songwriter, and producer based in Los Angeles and later North Carolina, known for a falsetto-led style that blends art pop, soul, folk, jazz, and experimental R&B.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) He emerged in 2014 with the self-recorded EP *Mid-City Island*, signed to the indie label Jagjaguwar in 2017, and released the debut album *Aromanticism* that September, followed by the 20-song double album *græ* in 2020.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) • [2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1992, San Bernardino, California; Ghanaian-American, 6 feet 4 inches tall[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) • [2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/) |
| Breakthrough | Self-recorded EP *Mid-City Island* (2014); first single "Seeds" released in 2015 by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) • [3](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/moses-sumney-my-role-in-the-system-is-to-try-to-dismantle-it-1.4247616) |
| Label | Signed to Jagjaguwar in early 2017 after declining major-label offers[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/) |
| Studio albums | *Aromanticism* (2017); *græ* (2020), a 20-song double album released in two parts[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) • [4](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/moses-sumney-on-resisting-definition-and-new-album-grae-my-identity-is-a-kind-of-patchwork-2669580) |
| Live work | *Live from Blackalachia* (2021), a concert album and film recorded with no audience in the Blue Ridge Mountains[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) |
| Screen work | Recurring role in HBO's *The Idol* (2023), featuring his single "Get it B4"[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) |
| Collaborations | Beck's *Song Reader*, Solange's *A Seat at the Table*, James Blake's *Assume Form*, and a duet with Hayley Williams[5](https://content.sydneyfestivalcdn.org.au/2017/17_PDF_Uploads/Press_Releases/Moses%20Sumney%20Press%20Release.pdf) • [6](https://time.com/5736159/best-albums-2019/) • [7](https://mosessumney.com/) |
## Early life
Sumney was born in San Bernardino, California, the middle child of two Ghanaian immigrants; his mother crossed the Canadian-American border while pregnant with him to join his father in [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california).[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/) His parents worked as a seamstress and a cab driver, ran a thrift store for a time, and later became pastors serving a predominantly Black-American congregation; his father practiced a theology that incorporated radical pan-Africanism into Christianity, and the family brought dozens of Black Americans to visit Ghana.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/)
When Sumney was 10, the family moved to Accra, Ghana. He had a difficult adjustment, was picked on by students and teachers, and turned inward; friends from that period later expressed surprise that he performed on stages at all.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/) He taught himself to sing using a voice-recording application on his computer, taping himself singing along to India.Arie, Nelly Furtado, and Usher, and studied Furtado's *Whoa, Nelly!*, Beyoncé's *[Dangerously in Love](https://www.edgepedia.org/dangerously-in-love)*, and [Justin Timberlake](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-timberlake)'s *[Justified](https://www.edgepedia.org/justified-album)* in detail.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/) He began writing his first songs at 12, on the school bus and in class, learning guitar from YouTube videos.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/feb/29/moses-sumney-interview-gray-aromanticism) The family returned to California, settling in Riverside, when he was 16.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/)
He spent two years at a community college, then transferred to UCLA, where he studied poetry and creative writing, copy-edited the school newspaper, and hosted a college radio show.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/) After graduating he worked briefly as a music journalist, interning at *LA Weekly*, and gave himself one year to make a full-time living as an artist before considering graduate school or law school.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/)
## Career
**Early buzz and label refusal.** Sumney's music career began in Los Angeles around 2013, when the R&B trio KING, invited onto his college radio show, asked him to open for them locally. He quit his day job at California Pizza Kitchen to join a short tour with José González, and industry interest followed quickly; several major labels courted him, with executives framing him as a future pop star.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/) He turned the offers down, saying he feared losing creative control, and held off signing until 2017.[4](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/moses-sumney-on-resisting-definition-and-new-album-grae-my-identity-is-a-kind-of-patchwork-2669580) In that period he recorded the EP *Mid-City Island* (2014) on a four-track recorder given to him by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio, and high-profile admirers including [Sufjan Stevens](https://www.edgepedia.org/sufjan-stevens), David Byrne, Solange, James Blake, and Beck began citing or working with him.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) • [2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/) Solange introduced him to Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor, who released his first single, "Seeds," in 2015, and he recorded the opening track for Beck's *Song Reader* project.[3](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/moses-sumney-my-role-in-the-system-is-to-try-to-dismantle-it-1.4247616) • [5](https://content.sydneyfestivalcdn.org.au/2017/17_PDF_Uploads/Press_Releases/Moses%20Sumney%20Press%20Release.pdf)
**Aromanticism.** Signed to Jagjaguwar in early 2017, Sumney released his debut full-length, *Aromanticism*, in September of that year.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) The Guardian described it as a "warmly absorbing meditation on lovelessness," noting a concept album that questions the assumption that romantic love is the center of human existence, with lines such as "Am I vital, if my heart is idle?"[9](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/21/moses-sumney-aromanticism-review) The album found chart success only in Belgium, where it peaked at No. 139.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/)
**græ.** His second album, *græ*, is a 20-song double album released in two parts, the first in March 2020 and the second on May 15, 2020.[4](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/moses-sumney-on-resisting-definition-and-new-album-grae-my-identity-is-a-kind-of-patchwork-2669580) Its title refers to greyness and the rejection of binaries; songs such as "Jill/Jack" and "Neither/Nor" dissolve opposites, and the record spans chamber pop, R&B, soul, art pop, jazz, and spoken word.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/01/moses-sumney-grae-part-1-one-review-stunning-first-instalment) Sumney wrote every lyric and primary melody himself and is the only singer on the album; credits include about 40 collaborators, among them Daniel Lopatin, Thundercat, the band Adult Jazz, and the author Taiye Selasi, whose vocals are sampled as a narrative spine.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/) The single "Virile," with guttural vocal stuttering, harp, lute, and industrial percussion, addresses masculinity; Sumney said the song and its video represent what it feels like to be a Black man in America.[11](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/moses-sumney-interview-grae-album-gender-sexuality-lyrics-tour-a9504621.html) Reviewers rated the album highly: Album of the Year aggregates critic scores of 80 from outlets including FLOOD, The Independent, Uncut, and Clash.[12](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/192026-moses-sumney-grae.php) TIME called his tenor "one of the most distinctive vocals in contemporary pop or soul" in a review of the song "Bless Me."[13](https://time.com/5830566/best-new-songs-may-2020/)
**Blackalachia and later work.** In 2021 he released *Live from Blackalachia*, a concert album and film recorded live with no audience on a stage erected in the [Blue Ridge Mountains](https://www.edgepedia.org/blue-ridge-mountains), comprising material from his first two albums.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) In 2023, "Get it B4," his first new studio single in three years, appeared in the first season of HBO's *The Idol*, in which Sumney also acted in a recurring role.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) In 2024 he released "Vintage," a hazy, textural single with a 1990s R&B feel.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526) His website lists the single "I Like It I Like It" featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore among recent releases.[7](https://mosessumney.com/)
## Genre and identity
Sumney has consistently resisted categorization, particularly the R&B label. He has said that being called an R&B artist follows from being a Black singer regardless of how he dresses the music up, and he describes his foundation as folk and soul music rather than any single genre.[14](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/moses-sumney-interview-grae-album-11179/) When pinned down, he has defined his music as "experimental folk-soul-jazz."[11](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/moses-sumney-interview-grae-album-gender-sexuality-lyrics-tour-a9504621.html) His parents are Ghanaian and he grew up in California, and he has described his identity as "this kind of patchwork" that he does not want defined.[4](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/moses-sumney-on-resisting-definition-and-new-album-grae-my-identity-is-a-kind-of-patchwork-2669580) "When I'm in America, I'm the African in America; when I'm in Africa I'm the American in Africa," he told The Guardian.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/feb/29/moses-sumney-interview-gray-aromanticism)
## Reception
Concert reviews collected by LiveRate describe Sumney's performances as "extraordinary, operatic, incredible, poetic, and emotive," with a critics' live rating of 79 out of 100 based on 25 reviews.[15](https://www.liverate.com/artists/moses-sumney) His collaborators extend across genres: he contributed vocals to Solange's *A Seat at the Table*, appeared on James Blake's *Assume Form* (named one of TIME's best albums of 2019), and recorded with [Sylvan Esso](https://www.edgepedia.org/sylvan-esso).[5](https://content.sydneyfestivalcdn.org.au/2017/17_PDF_Uploads/Press_Releases/Moses%20Sumney%20Press%20Release.pdf) • [6](https://time.com/5736159/best-albums-2019/) • [16](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/it-feels-like-the-most-us-thing-weve-ever-done-suno-isnt-coming-up-with-that-anytime-soon-sylvan-esso-on-the-making-of-ow-their-self-built-bettys-studio-and-why-they-pulled-their-music-from-spotify)
## References
1. [Moses Sumney — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/moses-sumney-mn0003284526)
2. [Moses Sumney Is Ready to Claim His Spotlight, Pitchfork (February 20, 2020)](https://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/moses-sumney-interview/)
3. [Moses Sumney: 'My role in the system is to try to dismantle it', The Irish Times (May 13, 2020)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/moses-sumney-my-role-in-the-system-is-to-try-to-dismantle-it-1.4247616)
4. [Moses Sumney interview: "My identity is a kind of patchwork", NME (2020)](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/moses-sumney-on-resisting-definition-and-new-album-grae-my-identity-is-a-kind-of-patchwork-2669580)
5. [Moses Sumney press release, Sydney Festival](https://content.sydneyfestivalcdn.org.au/2017/17_PDF_Uploads/Press_Releases/Moses%20Sumney%20Press%20Release.pdf)
6. [The 10 Best Albums of 2019, TIME](https://time.com/5736159/best-albums-2019/)
7. [Moses Sumney official website](https://mosessumney.com/)
8. ['I definitely rage against being classified as R&B': the strange, beautiful music of Moses Sumney, The Guardian (February 29, 2020)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/feb/29/moses-sumney-interview-gray-aromanticism)
9. [Moses Sumney: Aromanticism review, The Guardian (September 21, 2017)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/21/moses-sumney-aromanticism-review)
10. [Moses Sumney: Græ review – double album's stunning first instalment, The Guardian (March 1, 2020)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/01/moses-sumney-grae-part-1-one-review-stunning-first-instalment)
11. [Moses Sumney: 'Men are entitled to find what socially responsible worth they have', The Independent (May 10, 2020)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/moses-sumney-interview-grae-album-gender-sexuality-lyrics-tour-a9504621.html)
12. [Moses Sumney – græ – Reviews, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/album/192026-moses-sumney-grae.php)
13. [The Best New Songs of May 2020, TIME](https://time.com/5830566/best-new-songs-may-2020/)
14. [Moses Sumney Wants It All, Rolling Stone Australia (May 15, 2020)](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/moses-sumney-interview-grae-album-11179/)
15. [Moses Sumney – Live Tour & Concert Review Consensus, LiveRate](https://www.liverate.com/artists/moses-sumney)
16. [Sylvan Esso on the making of Ow, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/it-feels-like-the-most-us-thing-weve-ever-done-suno-isnt-coming-up-with-that-anytime-soon-sylvan-esso-on-the-making-of-ow-their-self-built-bettys-studio-and-why-they-pulled-their-music-from-spotify)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › R&B singers, 2010s to present › Surnames P to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license