Mankwe Ndosi
Mankwe Ndosi is Vocalist, Composer, and Interdisciplinary Culture Maker who conjures sound, story, and movement into transformative experiences. A sonic shape-shifter, she bends melody and rhythm into a living practice that amplifies the resonance between people, land, and ancestral memory. Rooted in Black ritual legacies of music and performance, Mankwe’s work explores the power of voice—not just as an instrument, but as a force for healing, connection, and liberation. Drawing on the Pan-African sensibility of artists like Nina Simone and Miriam Makeba, she honors her Tanzanian and Black American heritage, weaving together global soundscapes and ancestral wisdom. Her artistry is deeply influenced by collaborations with Douglas R. Ewart, Laurie Smith Carlos, Sharon Bridgforth, Amoke Kubat, Nicole Mitchell, the Give Get Sistet, Davu Seru, Medium Zach, Tomeka Reid, ancestors, and creative kin across disciplines and species. A member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians since 2022, and a Resident Community Engaged Artist at Pillsbury House + Theatre in Minneapolis, Mankwe works at the intersection of sound, movement, and earthwork—crafting immersive experiences that engage the body, spirit, and collective imagination. Whether on stage, in community gatherings, or in experimental sonic landscapes, she invites audiences into spaces of deep listening, serious play, and radical re-membering. Her sonic explorations are embodied in albums such as Do Gooder’s Blues (2009) and Science and Spirit (2012), both collaborations with Hip-Hop musician/producer Medium Zach. The latter was named one of the best albums of 2012 by the now-defunct City Pages in Minneapolis. Her most recent work, Felt/not said (2021)with ensemble Body mEmOri , features fellow AACM members Davu Seru, Tomeka Reid, and special guest Silvia Bolognesi, and was celebrated in Jazz Times for its experimental spirit and transformative energy, blending rhythmic intricacies with deep ancestral resonance. Brit Robson of Jazz Times describes her work in Felt/not said as, “Bring[ing] a brand new dictionary to music. Her sonic language is a string of spontaneous combustions that nod toward Jeanne Lee and Meredith Monk, informed by the African village…” Off-stage, she is an embodied cultural strategist, weaving creative practice into social transformation. From arts-rooted community engagement gatherings to equity workshops infused with improvisation and ritual, she builds bridges between disciplines, generations, and ways of knowing. She is most alive in fertile engagements of earth, sound, and movement—regenerating and re-membering the connections that sustain us.
