Watch | Ebony Payne-English at Blue Jay Listening Room

Jax multi-disciplinary artist performs “Kuongoza”

Ebony Payne-English performing at Blue Jay
Screengrab of Ebony Payne-English and Sarafina Ethereal performing at Blue Jay Listening Room

I could think of no better venue to feature the music of Ebony Payne-English, than the intimate Blue Jay Listening Room. The depth of the Jax-based rapper-poet-author’s music, after all, requires intentional listening. 

Payne-English, fresh off the release of her 2021 full length, Kuongoza, and just months away from releasing another album, Bits & Pieces, also turned out to be the perfect headliner for our JME Showcase Series stop at Blue Jay, as she capped off the night with a thrilling performance that initiated both tears and several standing ovations from the sellout crowd on hand. 

During soundcheck on the day of the show, Payne-English, joined by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sarafina Ethereal, performed the title-track from Kuongoza. Watch and listen above.  

In this article: