Moses Sumney

Moses Sumney evades definition as an act of duty: technicolor self-directed videos and monochrome clothes; Art Rock and Black Classical; blowing into Fashion Weeks from a small town in North Carolina; seemingly infinite collaborators, but one staggering voice. Akin to his upbringing between Southern California and Ghana, his work migrates seamlessly through genre and disciplines. His albums have topped the critics’ lists of The New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone; his music videos lauded by SXSW, the UKMVAs, the Webby, and Camerimage awards. When quarantine prohibited the touring of his 2nd album græ, Sumney took to the hills, directing the sprawling 2021 live album and film Blackalachia atop the Blue Ridge mountains. Here we see Sumney’s mastery of spectacle: shimmering vestments, angular choreography, songs performed acrobatically midair. That same year, he starred in his first major campaign for Calvin Klein; the next, Burberry. The cinematic flare of his videos led him to make his on-screen acting debut in A24 and HBO’s The Idol, co-starring Lily-Rose Depp, The Weeknd, and Rachel Sennott, and subsequently, Ti West’s MAXXXINE opposite of Mia Goth. 2024 also brought Sumney’s newest musical offering since 2020 — a leveled-up, soulful EP of sensual songs that capture Sumney’s coy flirtation with the spotlight. Consistent across the worlds of music, fashion, and film is his assertion that the undefinable still exists and dwelling in it is an act of resistance.