Samora Pinderhughes ‘Black Spring’ mixtape in collaboration with The Healing Project
SAMORA PINDERHUGHES UNVEILS NEW MIXTAPE
BLACK SPRING IN COLLABORATION WITH THE HEALING PROJECT
A TRIBUTE TO JAMES BALDWIN’S 100TH BIRTHYEAR, CHALLENGING CAPITALISM, POLICE VIOLENCE & MASS INCARCERATION
[Photo Credit: Ragan Henderson]
Award-winning pianist, composer, vocalist, and multidisciplinary artist Samora Pinderhughes has released his highly anticipated new mixtape, Black Spring, created in collaboration with The Healing Project.
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Black Spring is built around new compositions inspired by Pinderhughes’ sold-out February performance at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater. Honoring the centennial of iconic author and activist James Baldwin, the 10-track release blends poetic piano ballads with electronic textures and modern R&B, reimagining the soundscape of neo-soul.
The mixtape features contributions from members of Pinderhughes’ New York creative community, including Elliott Skinner, Jamila Woods, Dani Murcia, Jehbreal Jackson, and Marcus Gilmore, among others.
Rooted in the Black radical tradition, Black Spring confronts racial capitalism, state violence, mass incarceration, and systemic oppression in the U.S. and beyond—offering both resistance and healing.
“In a time when so many are overwhelmed, numbed, or uncertain in how to respond to the rise of authoritarianism and state violence, Black Spring offers a necessary jolt—an invitation to feel, to remember, and to move,” says Pinderhughes. “It meets people where they are—be it in grief, in rage, or in quiet despair—and channels those emotions into momentum.”
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The release follows a remarkable year of creative and academic achievements for Pinderhughes. He was recently named the Adobe Creative Resident at MoMA, a Pioneer Works Visual Art & Music Resident, and delivered a TED Talk/Performance (to be released publicly on August 1). He is also currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Harvard University, where he teaches “Music in Social Practice: Sounding the Chorus of Community.”
In February, Pinderhughes premiered The James Baldwin Essays: As Much Truth As One Can Bear at The Apollo—an immersive multimedia experience weaving songcraft, film, and Baldwin’s own writings (The Amen Corner, The Cross of Redemption). Originally commissioned by Harlem Stage in 2015, the work was reimagined with new songs and collaborators.
The mixtape includes the previously released single “Am I Human”, featuring poet Keith LaMar, currently on death row. Drawing from earlier EPs and live recordings, Pinderhughes reassembles a powerful and cohesive body of work confronting structural violence while imagining a future grounded in care and connection.
BLACK SPRING – TRACKLIST
- Hold Fast (feat. The Healing Project Choir)
- Kill War
- Hold That Weight
- Am I Human (feat. Jamila Woods, Elliot Skinner, Bobby Gonz & Keith LaMar)
- No Plce (feat. Marcus Gilmore & Phil Agnew)
- For Those Lost, For Those Taken (feat. Nio Levon, Taj Sapp, Dani Murcia & Jehbreal Muhammad Jackson)
- Blood (feat. Lhasa de Sela)
- Star Blooded Work Song
- Black Is the Color / Comfort (Live, feat. Jules Latimer)
- I Know I’ve Been Changed
ABOUT SAMORA PINDERHUGHES
Samora Pinderhughes is a composer, pianist, vocalist, filmmaker, and multidisciplinary artist known for addressing social justice through emotionally potent and genre-defying work. Hailed by The New York Times as “one of the most affecting singer-songwriters today” and described by Forbes as “a magical being,” Pinderhughes is shaping new artistic and cultural narratives through truth and vulnerability.
Raised in the Bay Area, Pinderhughes began playing piano at age two and later studied at Juilliard, where he was mentored by Anna Deavere Smith. He has collaborated with artists including Common, Robert Glasper, Karriem Riggins, Kyle Abraham, Sara Bareilles, Daveed Diggs, and Herbie Hancock. His work has been commissioned by Carnegie Hall, the Sundance Film Festival, The Kitchen, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Kennedy Center.
Pinderhughes recently won an Emmy Award for his role as composer, pianist, and vocalist on the documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, which was also shortlisted for the Oscars and recognized by IDA and Cinema Eye Honors.
His critically acclaimed album Venus Smiles Not in the House of Tears earned praise from WNYC’s All Of It and support from Questlove, who shared:
“Man… @samorapinderhughes’ music spoke to me tonight. His band, his singers—superb, gut-punching performance. I felt understood tonight. Kudos.”
