Text by Jay St. Flono

My mother named me Nzinga. Jessie Nzinga Montgomery. She thought I should use my given name, “Jessie” after my great-aunt whom she was very fond of as she thought it would be easier for me to get along in life with a more American name. But she wanted me to be connected to the legacy and power of the African Queen Nzinga. Regretfully, I have treated the name the way a lot of people treat their middle names—as a fun fact, or simply just the “N.” listed on my passport. I knew the name had a lot of power and over the years learned that Nzinga had been a somewhat brutal ruler, and I sometimes felt overwhelmed by the meaning. Now, I am grateful for the opportunity in this piece to understand more of Nzinga’s inner conflict as a leader who had to make difficult sacrifices in order to free her Angolan people from Portuguese occupation. Her complexity and struggle are part of our story and I’m proud to honor my namesake through this song. 

The words by Jay Saint Flono explore Queen Nzinga’s psychological struggle over having to adopt Christianity over her original Kongolese religious beliefs and practices. The music twists and bends, in chromatic and swirling underpinnings, with the strain of her inner dialogue as she prays for her own relief. 

—Jessie Nzinga Montgomery