Moyana reveals how shadow work transformed her music

Moyana is a Chicago-based singer, songwriter and music educator whose work bridges R&B, jazz and social consciousness. A former musicology major at Northwestern University, she uses her classical training and cultural awareness to create music that centers Black stories and empowers marginalized communities. Her debut album Patchwork dropped in January 2025, followed by the two-song project Miss Metamorphosis in October, featuring tracks Shadow Work and Afrofuturism.

What first awakened your desire to create music, and how has that early spark evolved into the artist you are today?

I first was inspired to create music by my dad. He was a drum major at Tuskegee in college, and he used to record covers of Nat King Cole songs and play them in my sister’s crib and my crib so that we could fall asleep. I always connected music to family and community from a young age. I was in choir in high school, I did theater, and I just didn’t see myself necessarily represented in a lot of the songs that we were singing as a Black person in a white school system. I decided to start writing my own songs so that I could share my own story, and my journey as an artist kind of developed from there.

When people experience your music for the first time, what do you hope they feel, understand or carry with them afterward?

I hope that they feel seen. Everybody’s going through so much in their own lives, some of it shared experiences like different political challenges that we’re all facing right now, and some of it individual storms that people are weathering. I hope that people, when they listen to my music, feel like it’s a safe space for them to think about and reflect on those challenges, and then also find a way to move through them into a place of peace and growth. Even when I’m organizing my sets, I like to put my most emotional or challenging songs in the middle so that then I can sing people out of that space, so that they can continue on with the rest of their days.

What inspired Miss Metamorphosis, and can you explain the ideas behind Shadow Work and Afrofuturism?

Miss Metamorphosis is the first project I dropped after my debut album, Patchwork, which came out in January of this year. There was a lot of work that went into Patchwork from me, from everybody else who was working on it. I started writing the first song three years ago. I kind of felt myself getting stuck in a place of writer’s block, where I was just afraid to start a new project because I didn’t want to commit necessarily three more years to the next thing. I wanted to think about how I wanted to evolve with those ideas.

I wanted to bring the jazzy sound from Patchwork with me, which is what inspired the instrumentation of Shadow Work and Afrofuturism. I also wanted to take some of the political ideas I was working with, like in the song Grown, where I’m talking about police brutality, the incarceration system, school violence, homophobia. I wanted to draw that out from just the outro of that song to a complete song. That’s where Afrofuturism comes from, thinking about how I can, as an artist, move my listener and myself forward into a space that is more inclusive, that allows for more creativity in light of all of these systems that we’re living under in the United States and specifically in Chicago.

What does shadow work look like for you?

Shadow work for me looks like journaling. I journal every morning. It’s also just taking the time to really sit with your fears instead of trying to work around them. I was experiencing a lot of anxiety about, am I ever going to be able to write again? Is this the only project I’ll ever make? How can I create in a way that is loving to the people around me instead of just stressing everybody out because we have a deadline? I kind of was just trying to work around those fears and not look at them directly in the eye. Shadow work is me sitting with them and thinking, what if this is all that I can do, and if it is, how do I decide to just pivot and make a different type of sound, instead of trying to recreate what other people have resonated with in the past? Shadow work also for me is prayer. If I’m in a season where I don’t understand what is going on, or I feel anxious, or I feel like I can’t be present, I definitely like to just sit back and pray as well, so that I can kind of ground and recenter myself.

What does confronting your fears do for you creatively?

I think it allows me to be more open. I’ve been working on allowing myself to just say yes to myself, like my inner child, and how I approach creativity. I make sure that I have a creative outlet, whether it’s pottery or photography, something else that I can do outside of music that helps me be more creative when it’s time for me to sit down and write a song. I’m saying yes to myself in so many ways throughout the day, so that I’m not forcing myself to write a song in a session. I’m taking opportunities as they come, I’ll walk, I’ll journal, I’ll think about a song that I want to write, and then allow it to come more naturally.

For Afrofuturism, I was just in an Uber ride, and my friend sent me three beats that she thought I might be good on. Afrofuturism was a beat that she was gonna throw out. It’s super old, it’s one of the first beats she ever made. I was listening to the drums, and they were speaking to me in terms of what I wanted to talk about. I’d also had a lot of conversations about the CTA’s funding, climate change and different things that were on my mind already. I got to use some of that, along with the inspiration from Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, to put the song together. The whole song came in 10 minutes.

You move between songwriting, performing, community work and industry roles. How do you balance those identities while staying anchored in your purpose?

I’m learning to say no, that’s been helpful. Instead of saying yes and not having the capacity to do something, or pushing myself past the limits of my physical health to meet everybody’s expectations, I’m just learning to say no. I’m also asking for help when I need it. Instead of forcing myself to do everything myself, just reaching out to other people, being like, can you help me with this? I need a sponsor for this, so that I can do more work as a group, as opposed to just trying to make everything happen by myself.

What themes and messages are most important for you to express through your music right now?

As an educator, I’m thinking about how I can capture certain stories that are in our archives that are being purposefully erased from history books. Who’s a Black artist that my students are not going to learn about during Black History Month that I still want them to know about? How can I take that person’s story and put it into a song so that they can get exposure to that, or Black authors? I’m really passionate about Black history as a former musicology major at Northwestern. I’m really passionate about making sure that Black stories are told in terms of our creativity.

I’m also passionate about uplifting my students. How can I make songs that make them feel seen and empowered as Black or Brown students, or students who are Spanish-speaking? I don’t like to swear in my music so that it can be accessible to everybody. I’m thinking a lot about how I can encourage them to experience joy and laughter and love in times that are so stressful.

How does it feel to be in the city where Nat King Cole is from and creating music?

I think it feels so special. There’s so much history in Chicago. Being from Minnesota, I’ve experienced some level of that with being able to go to the Capri Theater or First Avenue, where Prince had such a strong presence. I just love being able to go to Jazz Showcase or the Green Mill. There’s so many cool locations in Chicago, and there’s so much history. Even looking at Sun Ra and everybody who came up through the Great Migration. One of the songs I’m working on right now is about Annie Lee, who lives in Chicago. She was a Black female painter, and her presence is in Chicago as well. When I’m talking about educating my listeners about different people, I’m trying to go to the archives and look at their different historical documents to bring that into the music in an accessible way.

What was the intention behind Patchwork?

The goal of Patchwork is kind of summed up in the lyrics from Must Be Loved. There’s one line where I say, I thought that my life would be like clockwork, like mapping things out, making a plan, following every step of my route, but it’s really more like patchwork. I’m stitching and sewing the different lessons and experiences of my life together to create a tapestry or a quilt. The album didn’t come together all at once. It was very community-oriented, it was very fun, and I’m very proud of it. It was really fun to drop it at the top of the year, because then I can share those songs. I’ve been able to do them at so many shows throughout this year, and it’s been a new experience every time.

What is the next chapter you want to write for yourself as an artist and as a cultural contributor?

I would like to be an artist who creates balance. Internal balance with how I’m managing my calendar and my different commitments, as well as my creative balance, so making time for taking photos and also writing music, things that pour into me. I’m creating balance for my relationships, so how I show up for the people around me and for my students. I’m really looking forward to continuing to work in education and pouring into them in that way to uplift them so that they can also create ideas of their own. In terms of my sound, I’m looking forward to exploring some more jazz as we get into 2026. I’m looking forward to some more features, and traveling in a sustainable way. I would like to explore more of Chicago, more of the United States in terms of my shows, while also taking care of myself.

What is a lyric you wrote that always hits you when you hear it back?

From Thesis: “What if I can’t have it all? What if I try failing fall again?” That’s a great line, I think.

If your personality had a theme song, what would it be?

Powerpuff Girls theme song.

What is one Chicago spot every creator should experience at least once?

Every creator should go to the Japanese Gardens over in Hyde Park, because it’s free, you can walk in, it’s open till sunset. I went over there twice this year. I was there on Juneteenth, and it’s just so pretty. It’s so beautiful.

If you could send a message to your 10-year-old self in three words, what would you say?

Keep on shining.

Follow Moyana on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube @moyanasmusic. Her music is available on all streaming platforms.