In an issue of "Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations" from 1994, the famous educator, author, theorist, and activist bell hooks wrote: "The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is - it is to imagine what is possible." Her words speak of an innate sense of wonder, that truth is often stranger than fiction. While hooks captures the significance of art in ink, the French-Senegalese artist anaiis (whose name is written in lowercase as a tribute to hooks) translates this ethos into sound.
On her upcoming album Devotion & The Black Divine, the songs swell with emotional clarity and a growing sense of homecoming. Not to a place, but to oneself. anaiis seems to be in dialogue with the awe of nature, recognizing our own divinity and thus our wholeness both in chaos and in beauty. She creates a work that gently (lovingly, as you will notice while listening) pushes against the boundaries of her comfort zone.
The new motherhood has significantly influenced the entire project. It has deepened anaiis' understanding of how to respond with grace, create with freedom, and capture the reality of being human, raw and unpredictable. This inner expansion is audible throughout the album. It leans into the idea that the self is something that is constantly evolving, similar to Octavia Butler's reminder that "God is change. Anything you touch, you change. Anything you change, changes you." Like a tree shaped by its environment, growth is not always linear – there are knots and bends that arise as it adapts to changing climates. anaiis plays with the idea that it is the essence of existence to move fearlessly through the unknown. This quest for freedom, in sound and spirit, runs through every note.
While earlier works provided catharsis and rupture, Devotion & The Black Divine draws strength from slowness and gentleness. It begins with "Something is Broken," a title that allows past pain to rest and prepares the ground for something deeper-rooted to take shape. The album signals a deeper commitment to intuition and marks an ongoing transformation that began during her time in Brazil, when the collaborative mini-album "anaiis & Grupo Cosmo" emerged through live improvisation in just one week – with her newborn son in tow – marking a significant expansion of her sound and approach.
A series of recent releases set the stage for this new chapter: a reinterpretation of Lauryn Hill's "To Zion," performed at the Meltdown Festival by Chaka Khan, as well as two remixes of "B.P.E. (Black People Everywhere)" – a highlight from the Brazil sessions – by Sango and Hagan, which were played on BBC Radio 6 Music. Each release adds a new dimension to the whole, tracing the story of collaboration within the diaspora and intercultural connectedness.
Born in Toulouse, raised in Dublin, Dakar, and Oakland, and now rooted in London, anaiis' trajectory has shaped a perspective based on movement, change, community, and personal transformation. After her debut single "Nina" in 2018, anaiis released "this is no longer a dream" in 2021 with Chronixx, Sjava, and Topaz Jones, under the artistic direction of Ib Kamara and Rafael Pavarotti. She then joined Daniel Caesar on his UK tour, shared the stage with Erykah Badu and Nick Hakim, headlined a sold-out Barbican show, and gave a talk at TEDxLondonWomen at the Southbank Centre. In 2025, she toured the US with Mereba and performed at SXSW London.
From a young age, anaiis was drawn to the voice as a means of expressing emotions, inspired by artists like Ella Fitzgerald, whose singing she compared to a nightingale, "a singer of endless songs," as she recently stated in a New York Times article. This early fascination evolved into a broader creative tradition through the sacred work of Black thinkers and artists, not as an echo but as a foundation that allowed her to discover her own voice. Nina Simone, who broke the silence with piercing truth. Maya Angelou and James Baldwin, who wrote from the depths of the soul. Alice Walker's spirited storytelling. Filmmakers like Ousmane Sembène, who capture the nuances of resistance and identity.
These influences shaped anaiis' approach to creating with conviction, dreaming with freedom, and honoring curiosity as a compass. anaiis' visual accompaniments to her music have long been an essential extension of her storytelling. In close collaboration with her partner Tayo Rapoport and detail-oriented collaborators like Ronan McKenzie, she builds worlds through film to explore an art form that invites us to sit between something that feels both fantastical and grounded.
Devotion & The Black Divine is both soothing and frightening, infused with essential messages of self-love. Rather than letting the past define her, anaiis moves toward something less confined and more expansive. Her voice reaches beyond her known range to discover new qualities. On her new album, she speaks more of gratitude and acceptance than of worries. An ongoing inquiry into the containment of the ego and the burden of fear. She captures the non-linear nature of healing and allows it to appear beautifully through her tender lens.
We are very excited to take a step on this journey with anaiis on March 14, 2026, at Nochtwache.
Doors open: 7:30 PM
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
