BIO AKUA NARU
Hailing from New Haven, Connecticut (USA), Akua Naru’s journey to global poet began in an early
upbringing in the Pentecostal church. The oldest of three, Naru began attending church with her
grandmother as an infant. Steeped in gospel music, it was there that a young Naru was introduced to a
world of black female leaders, from pastor to choir director, who were steeped in African American
musical and oratorical traditions. Encouragement from her family to recite scriptures before the church
congregation during holidays quickly, however, soon took an unexpected direction when an Uncle, just 3
years her senior, began sneaking hip hop records into the house in defiance of the family ban on secular
music. Already enamored with literature and poetry Naru found in hip hop a power to describe her
experiences with unmatched eloquence, so much so that she and her Uncle immediately began performing
as a duo at backyard parties around the neighborhood. Her Uncle, an aspiring producer, would supply the
beats for a then 9 year old Akua Naru on the microphone.
Honing her writing in her teenage years combined with an expanding political education, Naru began
participating in youth