The Metro: Grammy-nominated Mumu Fresh makes Detroit stop on The Healing Tour

Fresh joined us live in-studio before her show to talk about the tour, the inspiration behind her music and being a musical ambassador.

Grammy-nominated musician Mumu Fresh (center) poses with "The Metro" host Tia Graham and guest co-host, Outlier Media Executive Director Orlando Bailey.

Grammy-nominated musician Mumu Fresh (center) poses with "The Metro" host Tia Graham and guest co-host, Outlier Media Executive Director Orlando Bailey.

We talk politics on the show; we talk music on the show; and Baltimore native Maimouna Yousef — also known as Mumu Fresh — has a lot to say about both.

Fresh is a grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and emcee. She also was recently named the musical ambassador for the U.S. state department.

The decorated musician’s The Healing Tour is making a stop in Detroit Wednesday night at The Bridge Center. The show starts at 6 p.m.

Fresh joined The Metro live in-studio before her show to talk about the tour, the inspiration behind her music and being a musical ambassador.

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Before we spoke to Fresh on the show, we heard her performance of the song “Ink Pata” on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert in 2018.

The poem ends with Fresh saying, “We are spiritual beings having a human experience and nothing else is ever true.” We started the conversation by gaining a deeper understanding of the poem.

“We’ve created this construct here, as humans, you know, all these different factions and groups and identities, but on a soul level, we are spiritual beings, first and foremost and forever,” Fresh said. “That’s the part that’s eternal. All the identities we’ve constructed here in this temporary human form, they’re going to dissolve, and they won’t matter in a very short period of time; when we leave this physical plane, we become energy.”

Fresh says being homeschooled in Baltimore until the 10th grade really helped shape and inform her worldview.

“My parents are pretty extraordinary and they are very sovereign-minded, independent thinkers. They are historians and philosophers and, you know, they are gangsters too,” Fresh said.  “I got a chance to look at the world very differently. You know, my mother definitely believed in what they call unschooling. Now, experiential learning, and it’s different. It definitely shapes your mind in a different way.”

Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Mumu Fresh.

More headlines from The Metro on Aug. 21, 2024:

  • Whether it’s automotive insurance or rent, Detroit is not affordable for many residents. Outlier Media reporter SaMya Overall joined the show to talk about their Affording Detroit series, exploring the REAL cost of transportation, car insurance, rent, utilities and more in the city.
  • Detroit City Council President Pro Tem James Tate joined the show to talk more about a 99-year-old building in Detroit’s Old Redford Community that now houses the 8th Precinct’s new headquarters for neighborhood police officers. Tate says he hopes it will also serve as a space for the community.
  • Michigan’s Supreme Court declared at the end of July that a previous state legislature had obstructed the will of the people and watered down a proposal that would have increased the state’s minimum wage. Now Michigan’s minimum wage is set to increase by $2 in February and then each subsequent year through 2029. To discuss the implications of the ruling and how people are reacting to it, we were joined by Bridge Michigan Reporter Jordyn Hermani.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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