Programs at Home: NJOMZA
23m
German-born, Chicago-raised, Los Angeles-based artist NJOMZA seamlessly blends modern pop sparkle with R&B intimacy. Her path through music has been rare: honing her studio chops with Mac Miller as her mentor, and flexing her songwriting prowess by cowriting Ariana Grande’s biggest hits to date (“7 Rings,” “Thank U, Next”). But something’s changed. After introducing herself to the world via two color-themed EPs that found her sporting neon pink and blue hair to match, NJOMZA is noticeably, stunningly, natural as she prepares to drop her long-awaited debut album. If her 2017 breathy, beautiful sad for you EP was about working through a toxic relationship, and 2018’s soulful, beat-backed Vacation EP was about rediscovering self-love, then this is a NJOMZA who knows herself and what she wants. By age 14, NJOMZA knew she’d be a singer and fronted an alternative band that wound up playing Warped Tour. A couple years later, she began posting rap covers to YouTube, and then a legendary thing happened: when Mac Miller heard her version of his “I’ll Be There,” he signed NJOMZA to his REMember Music label. The creative partnership they formed inspired her to follow her dreams to L.A., and the many hours they made music together helped shape the NJOMZA we’re now truly getting to know. Now, NJOMZA is honoring that spirit and generosity the best way she can: by releasing the music she was born to make.