Well, what I do wanna know,
is I wanna know about baby Moses.
What were you like as a kid?
- Well, they found me in the reeds,
in the river.
Here we are, all by ourselves.
Awaiting our next guest,
the beautiful songbird Mr. Moses Sumney.
We're so excited.
We can't hide it.
Come on, come on! Let's go!
Ah!
What is this, "The Ellen Show"?
Nice.
- Welcome to "Centerpiece." - This is gorgeous.
I heard you like scary movies,
so I thought I'd start by scaring you.
I'm truly terrified, so thank you.
And now, let's take a journey to the center.
When did you start singing?
It's like different levels.
Like, I started thinking of singing
when I was seven years old.
I started practicing singing consistently when I was 12 or 13.
But I never sang publicly.
- I never sang in church. - What?
I never performed.
Yeah, I was very shy.
- Seriously? - Yeah.
Your voice is stunningly beautiful.
Thank you.
I've heard through the grapevine
that, like, your dad is a pastor.
- Yes. - My dad is--was a pastor.
Oh, cool.
And just being raised in the church,
like, that was my sense of blackness.
Do you see how that's informed
your practice as an artist?
I definitely approach music
with a sense of sacredness.
A nice art with a kind of sacred respect.
So talk to me about the idea of gray.
Identity for me is not this nor that,
and therefore gray is somewhere in the middle.
You know, I'm not African and American.
In a lot of ways I feel like I'm this third thing,
this third nebulous identity.
Wow.
And now, let's go deep.
The question is, are you ready?
The answer is no.
Carmen Sandiego,
or Where's Waldo?
Yo, Carmen Sandiego, that fit used to be so fire.
Sportin' Wave or Murray's?
Murray's.
White pussy...willow
or black pussy willow?
Mom, is this okay?
These are real things.
Um, black pussy willow.
Here's the most important question of all of this.
You make these beautiful a capella improvisations
and they're just stunning.
Can you do a vocal interpretation
of my essence?
Ooh.
Oh-ooh.
Ooh.
Ooh-ah.
Ooh.
Well, damn!
Girl, it's time to process.
Moses talks about occupying a space that defies definition,
somewhere in that beautiful shade of gray.
When I listen to his music,
I am truly and honestly transformed.
The way the sounds wash over my body and my soul,
I actually see a place,
a world outside of this one
that I am gonna create through flowers
where he now can be seen.
So you can't tell me this ain't gonna be bomb.
This was such a labor of love.
You shared such amazing things with me.
You were kind of blowing my mind in all these different ways.
So hopefully, I'll have a similar effect on you.
Cue the curtain!
Wow.
This is so beautiful.
I just appreciate how you speak about liminal space,
how you speak about the in-between
like nothing is black or white.
It stays in a gray zone.
So we really tried to work in a color scale.
Oh, wow, this is so beautiful. It's like a home.
Yeah.
It's like an igloo of beauty.
Your music speaks volumes to me specifically.
And I imagine I'm not the only person.
I'm honored that
the work could resonate in any kind of way.
I think it's time for some music, though.
Will you grace us?
I'll try.
I'll try to rise to the beauty of this space.
Oh, please.
Ladies, gentlemen,
and those who don't conform, Moses Sumney.
Are you dancing with me?
Or just merely dancing?
Polly, Polly, Polly.
One, two, three, four, five, six.
Am I just your Friday dick?
Cornucopia of just-in-cases.
You'll never have to chase this.
Whoa, Polly, oh, Polly.
Obviously don't think much of me.
Polly, yeah, oh, Polly.
Polly, yeah, Polly, yeah.
Polly, yeah.
Polly, yeah, Polly, yeah.
Polly, ooh.