Moses Sumney (born May 19, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. His self-recorded EP, Mid-City Island, was released in 2014. He released another five-song EP in 2016, titled Lamentations. His first full-length album, Aromanticism, was released in September 2017. His second studio album, Græ, was released in 2020. Sumney has performed as an opening act for James Blake, Solange Knowles, and Sufjan Stevens. In 2023, he was featured on The Weeknd's HBO TV series The Idol.
Early life Born in California, Sumney was raised by pastor parents, and moved with his family back to Ghana at the age of 10. He described his childhood as "Americanized" by this age and had difficulty adjusting to the culture of Ghana, especially the rural nature of his new environment. There he grew up on a goat farm in Accra and commuted by public bus to school. His family returned to Southern California when Sumney was 16, settling in Riverside.
He did not learn to play any instruments until he was older, writing a cappella music for years instead. Sumney did not perform his musical compositions publicly until he was 20.
After high school, he moved to Los Angeles in 2010 to attend the University of California, Los Angeles. He majored in creative writing and studied poetry, which helped him improve his songwriting.
Musical career In 2014, Sumney broke into the Los Angeles music scene and caught the eye of many record labels. He said at the time it did not feel right because labels were trying to conform him into a certain image and he was still trying to discover the artist that he wanted to be. He decided to turn down these labels and move to Asheville, North Carolina. His resistance to labels is reflected in his later album, Græ.
Sumney's 2014 debut project, Mid-City Island, is a five-song EP that was self-recorded onto a four-track recorder given to him by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio. The self-released EP was described by Pitchfork as "primarily composed of first-takes and improvisation; the music is stirring but purposefully incomplete". Sumney joined Terrible Records after the release. He considers his songs to be performance based, and that many of his recorded compositions derive from fleshing the songs out through live performance.
He has performed at venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and alongside artists such as Dirty Projectors, Junip, St. Vincent, and Local Natives. Sumney sang on the opening track of Beck's album Song Reader. On September 30, 2016, Sumney released Lamentations, an EP which featured a guest appearance from Thundercat.
Sumney's first full-length album, Aromanticism, was released on September 22, 2017 by Jagjaguwar. It received acclaim from Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and The New York Times, which also named it one of the best albums of 2017. He stumbled across the term "aromantic" when he began writing it back in 2014 and found the term resonated with him. Several songs from the album have been featured in the soundtracks of various television shows. His 2017 single "Doomed" appeared in the Season 6 finale of Netflix's Orange is the New Black, and appeared again in Westworld, Season 3, Episode 3, "The Absence of Field". His 2017 single "Quarrel" appeared in Netflix’s Dear White People. His 2017 song "Plastic" and his 2020 song "Keeps Me Alive" both appeared in HBO's Insecure. The songs "Quarrel", "Doomed", and "Swan Song" all appeared in the 2021 film Swan Song.
Sumney played himself in Season 1 episode 4 of HBO's Random Acts of Flyness. He also appeared in the movie Creed and worked on the soundtrack alongside Ludwig Görannson and Tessa Thompson.
Sumney released his second studio album, Græ, in two parts in 2020. The first part was released on February 21, 2020, and the second part was released on May 15, 2020, accompanied by a physical release of the double album. In March 2020, he released the self-directed music video "Cut Me". In May 2020, Sumney released "Bless Me" as a single from the second part of his album, Græ.
In December 2020, Sumney's single "Me in 20 Years" was featured in a special episode of the HBO drama Euphoria. Sumney contributed a cover of the Metallica song "The Unforgiven" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021. On December 8, 2021, Sumney released a full-length concert film, Blackalachia, recorded over two days in the Blue Ridge Mountains. An accompanying live album, Live from Blackalachia, was released on December 10.
In 2025, Sumney appeared as the clown and musician Feste in a Shakespeare In The Park production of Twelfth Night; or What You Will.
Awards and honors In 2018, Moses Sumney's self-directed music video "Quarrel" won a SXSW Film Festival Special Jury Award, and was nominated for a Camerimage award and UKMVA. In 2020, his self-directed video for "Cut Me" was nominated for a UKMVA for Best Alternative Video - International. Both of his albums have featured on the year-end lists of Pitchfork, NPR, New York Times, Stereogum, and more.
Discography
Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected information Title Details Peak chart positions US Sales USHeat BEL(FL) PORAromanticism Released: September 22, 2017 Label: Jagjaguwar Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming — — 139 —Græ Released: May 15, 2020 Label: Jagjaguwar Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming 28 8 — 44
Live albums + List of live albums, with selected information Title DetailsLive from Blackalachia Released: December 10, 2021 Label: Jagjaguwar, Tuntum Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
Extended plays + List of extended plays, with selected information Title DetailsMid-City Island Released: April 7, 2014 Label: Self-released Format: Cassette, CD-R, digital download, streamingLamentations Released: September 30, 2016 Label: Jagjaguwar Format: CD, vinyl, digital download, streamingMake Out in My Car: Chameleon Suite Released: May 25, 2018 Label: Jagjaguwar Format: Digital download, streamingBlack in Deep Red, 2014 Released: August 10, 2018 Label: Jagjaguwar Format: Vinyl, digital download, streamingBryce Dessner: Tenebre Released: September 20, 2019 Label: Resonanzraum Format: Vinyl, digital download, streamingSophcoreReleased: August 2, 2024 Label: Tuntum Format: Digital download, streaming
Singles As lead artist Title Year Album "Man on the Moon"2014 Mid-City Island "Scratch the Surface" / "Forlorn Fantasy" rowspan="3" "Seeds" / "Pleas" 2015 "Everlasting Sigh" 2016 "Worth It" Lamentations "Lonely World (Lamentations Version)" "Doomed" 2017 Aromanticism "Quarrel" "Indulge Me" "Rank & File" 2018 Black in Deep Red "Virile" 2019 Græ "Polly" "Me in 20 Years" 2020 "Cut Me""Bless Me""The Other Lover" "The Unforgiven"2021The Metallica Blacklist"Can't Believe It" "Get It B4" 2023 The Idol Episode 3 (Music from the HBO Original Series) "Vintage"2024Sophcore "Gold Coast" "Hey Girl(s)"2025 "I Like It I Like It" "O Mistress Mine"What You Will: Music from Free Shakespeare in the Park's Twelfth Night
As featured artist Title Year Album "Show Me Love" 2016 "To Believe" 2019To Believe "Cul de Sac" 2020 "Find Me"(Dahi featuring Mez and Moses Sumney) 2026 Black Boy (Alternative)
Other charted songs Title Details Peak chart positions Album USDance "Tell Them"201923Assume Form
Guest appearances + List of guest appearances as featured artist, with the respective artists and albums Title Year Artist Album"Title of This Song" 2014 Beck Beck Song Reader"Shed You" 2015 Tessa Thompson Creed: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"Show Me Love"2016 Hundred Waters, Chance the Rapper, Robin Hannibal, Skrillex "Mad" Solange Knowles, Lil' Wayne A Seat at the Table"Cassidy" Jenny Lewis & Friends Day of the Dead"Truth Lies Low" Andrew BirdAre You Serious"Weekend" 2017 Flume Skin Companion EP 2"Tell Them"2019 James Blake, Metro Boomin Assume Form"U (Man Like)" Bon Iver, Bruce Hornsby, Jenn Wasner i,i"To Believe" The Cinematic Orchestra To Believe"Standing on the Horizon" Woodkid Woodkid for Nicolas Ghesquière - Louis Vuitton Works One"Tenebre" Bryce Dessner, Ensemble Resonanz Bryce Dessner: Tenebre"Blood in Rain" 2020 Ethan Gruska En Garde"The Unforgiven"2021MetallicaThe Metallica Blacklist"I'll Be Seeing You" 2023 A Small Light (Songs from the Limited Series)"Insecurities"2024 Shabaka Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace"Around the World in a Day" RM Right Place, Wrong Person"Is It Cold in the Water?" AnohniTransa"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" Lyra Pramuk, Sam Smith
Filmography +YearTitleRoleNotes2023The IdolIzaakSupporting role2024MaXXXineLeon GreenSupporting role2026 Interview with the VampireLemuelGuest appearance
Awards and nominations +YearAssociationCategoryNominated workResultRef2018AIM Independent Music AwardsIndependent Video of the Year"Doomed"International Breakthrough of the yearMoses SumneyLibera AwardsBest Outlier RecordAromanticism 2019Video of the Year“Quarrel”2020AIM AwardsBest Second AlbumGræ 2021Best Independent AlbumLibera AwardBest Outlier Record
References
External links Official website "Tiny Concerts at Coffee Tables Near You". The New York Times, October 20, 2014.