megiapa – (SMT)
Today, Ohio-born, Los Angeles-based linguist, producer, visual artist, and vocalist megiapa shares “(SMT)” from her forthcoming International Anthem debut album Intentions, out September 25.
“(SMT)” was written in Chicago in the summer of 2020, as megiapa watched the protests and uprisings take place across the city and country in response to George Floyd’s murder. She explains: “The song reflects on all the hopes and prayers we send out for a better world, for our safety, and for our right to simply live. So many of our freedom songs are rooted in the promise of ‘someday.’ ‘We shall overcome someday.’ That future tense asks us to believe in a future we cannot yet see.
‘(SMT)’ is the moment between those hopes and actual change. Sometimes it feels like all we can do is talk about it, organize, repost, grieve, hope, pray, and wait for the world to catch up. I do believe people can create change. History has shown us that. But it rarely arrives quickly. Until then, we keep hoping, praying, and believing that another world is possible.
‘(SMT’) stands for ‘So Much Time,’ but it also references ‘suckin’ my teeth,’ a paralinguistic expression understood across much of the Black diaspora that conveys impatience, frustration, annoyance, or disappointment without saying a word.”
Today’s release of “(SMT)” is accompanied by a video for the track, directed and edited by megiapa, including video footage and still photography from Dr Tiffany R Smith’s activism and community involvement from 2015-present.
Last month, megiapa shared another track from Intentions, “on the spaceway (frfr),” via a music video directed by Eric Coleman and B+ of Mochilla (known for their visual work with MF DOOM, Madlib, Sudan Archives).
In July, megiapa shared the album’s lead track “Open Your Eyes” along with a video she directed and edited herself.
On September 24, megiapa will debut a new live band, performing music from Intentions at an album release celebration at 2220 Arts+Archives in Los Angeles. The band will include vocalist Aankha Neal, drummer Mekala Session, bassist ghalani of Greenwood, keyboardist Jesse Justice, flute player Aisha Mars, and percussionist Allakoi “Mic Holden” Peete. Chicago DJ selective listening will be opening and closing the event.
Intentions is a collection of music birthed by megiapa during her decade of development on Chicago’s underground beat scene, but was made truly possible by the surge of growth she experienced after relocating to Los Angeles in 2023. In three years on the West Coast, megiapa has had a full and enthusiastic embrace from the LA jazz, beats and underground hip hop communities, and has become a regular collaborator of artists like Stacy Epps, Stones Throw artist Mocky, and innovative bassist/multiinstrumentalist The Growth Eternal. As she found her voice and place in the LA scene, megiapa’s vision for her new album coalesced, and she finished the music by incorporating live instruments from The Growth Eternal, pianist Ahmad Muhammad aka Kafari (known for his work with Sudan Archives), Mekala Session, Telemakus, Will Miller (of Resavoir) percussionist Allakoi “Mic Holden” Peete, and others, plus vocals from Aankha Neal, and additional contributions from Blvck Spvde, 10.4 ROG, and more. megiapa then returned to Chicago in February 2026 to do final mixing on the album at International Anthem Studios with engineer Dave Vettraino.
In his liner notes for the album, writer Marcus J. Moore says Intentions “feels handmade in the truest sense: every synth patch, vocal harmony and drum pattern carries the residue of lived experience… By the time Intentions concludes, what remains is the feeling of having accompanied someone through a profound shift. The album asks listeners to relinquish their fear of the unknown. Again and again, megiapa returns to the same guiding principle: trust the process; everything will work out.”
About what she learned through her work, and what she hopes to communicate with Intentions, megiapa says: “Fear is a hindrance to our dreams and our goals and the beauty of life. Please dream with me. Please take a moment to reflect. And please be okay with things being uncertain.”
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