aja monet is a wizard with words. Sometimes monet’s masterpieces are crafted into prolific poetry pieces. Other moments are woven into soul-stirring songs. When monet is feeling creatively courtesy, they are curated into a full audio project. The next one of these intoxicating releases is set to drop this week.
the color of rain, monet’s highly anticipated follow-up to 2023’s when the poems do what they do, will hit streaming services by week’s end. The 15-track body of work features production from Meshell Ndegeocello, Justin Brown, Chris Connors, Nico Segal; mixing by Connors; and mastering by Alex DeTurk.
Over on Instagram, monet penned a letter to supporters outlining the album’s inspiration.
“Rain nourishes, blesses, and renews,” wrote monet. “It loves everything it touches. This album is the space between droplets. At the crux of rising fascism, I offer a waking-dream intervention, amid the sinister reality of contemporary events. A prompt to look up at the sky within, ‘the color of rain.'”
She continued, “This is an evolution from the intimate, live-café energy of my debut album, when the poems do what they do. While I nod at the Black Arts Movement’s legacy and lineage, this album is a conjure to experiment and explore the interior, to listen, and develop new sounds.”
monet closed with a special note about what listeners should expect from the incorporation of poetry.
“For the devoted lovers of poetry, there are breadcrumbs of metaphor and meaning embedded within and throughout my musical choices,” penned monet. “A call to testify, imagine, and transmute: ‘the color of rain’ is the hue of daring introspection. A rinse. This album is my refusal of convention and apathy. I encourage the listener not just to hear, but to drift, to wander, to go inward—to feel. Be the poem we need right now.”
Continue below for the confirmed release date, tracklist, supporting tour dates, and more for aja monet’s album, the color of rain.
Release Date
aja monet’s album, the color of rain, is out on May 22, 2026, via Drink Sum Wtr. Click here to pre-save or pre-stream.
Tracklist
- “say it with your chest”
- “elsewhere” featuring Meshell Ndegeocello & Georgia Anne Muldrow)
- “withness”
- “hollyweird”
- “skinfolk”
- “for the Congo”
- “i came to the poem”
- “to sister” featuring Ganavya & Brandee Younger
- “i know that i don’t know”
- “working class musicians”
- “love is a choosing” featuring Mereba
- “song of myself”
- “melting clocks” featuring Mick Jenkins & Vic Mensa
- “every media minute”
- “indigo”
Album Cover
Supporting Tour
Before the color of rain is officially released, aja monet will launch its supporting tour on May 20 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Continue below to view The Elsewhere Tour schedule and official poster.
Tickets for aja monet’s The Elsewhere Tour are on sale now. If you can’t get your hands on tickets, we recommend trying a secondary market website, like Vivid Seats. First-time Vivid Seats users can save $10 on ticket orders over $100 by entering promo code VIVID10 at checkout. When tickets are purchased through our Vivid Seats link HERE or using our code, we earn an affiliate commission.
05/20/2026 – New York City, NY @ Carnegie Hall
05/23/2026 – Atlanta, GA @ Atlanta Jazz Festival
05/30/2026 – Los Angeles, CA @ Getty Museum
06/01/2026 – San Francisco, CA @ Chapel
07/04/2026 – Montréal, QC @ Montreal Jazz Festival
07/05/2026 – Toronto, ON @ The Great Hall
07/30/2026 – San Diego, CA @ UC San Diego
08/08/2026 – San Jose, CA @ San Jose Jazz Festival
08/19/2026 – Geneva, CH @ Scène Ella Fitzgerald
08/22/2026 – Dorset, UK @ We Out Here Festival
08/26/2026 – Istanbul, TR @ Kommunite Social
08/28/2026 – Cella Monte, IT @ Jazz:Re:Found
08/29/2026 – Nantes, FR @ RDV de l’Erdre
08/30/2026 – Paris, FR @ Festival Jazz à la Villette
