“… achingly personal lyrics paired with muscular funk, soul and blues, and backed by her
shredding, soaring guitar.” – The New York Times

August 2024 — Judith Hill’s 2024 album “Letters from a Black Widow” represents a reckoning
for this artist, both personally and professionally. Her career as a background singer was on the
precipice of breaking free, through key collaborations with both Michael Jackson and with
Prince. Suddenly, each of those public tragic deaths became a personal tragedy for Judith as
well. Internet trolls cruelly coined her the “Black Widow” for those associations, and it took her
years to overcome that as well as her own personal grief. This Grammy-winning powerhouse
has emerged from her chrysalis with a jaw-dropping album and a performance to match.
Gutsy and nuanced as a vocalist, Judith Hill is an accomplished songwriter, arranger, and multi-
instrumentalist – and one of the few musicians who can cite Elton John, Spike Lee, Prince, and
Michael Jackson among those who have sought out her talent.
One of the highest-profile background singers of her generation, she got her start in the early
2000s. She worked with Micheal Jackson for months as his duet partner for the “This Is It” tour,
before his sudden death. Hill’s deep career as a background singer was featured in the Oscar-
winning 2013 documentary “20 Feet From Stardom,” about background vocalists, for which they
also earned Grammys.
Fresh off being a competitor on 2013’s “The Voice,” Hill began to establish her well-deserved
solo career. From 2014 to 2016, Hill jammed, recorded and performed with Prince, becoming
his protégé and a regular presence at Paisley Park, his estate outside Minneapolis. Together,
they produced her debut album, “Back in Time,” in 2015. In the next decade Hill established a
solo career built upon a discography of increasingly refined and creative albums. Her album
Baby, I’m Hollywood, was the rowdy coming-of-age tale of a mixed-race child of bohemian
California.
But throughout that time, she became overshadowed by the very public and very personal
deaths of her mentors and friends.
Finally, GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Judith Hill is
back and reclaims her strength on deeply emotive new album Letters from a Black Widow – out
now via Regime Music Group. The accompanying video for “Black Widow,” also released last
month, stands out as a theatrical reenactment of the jaw-dropping track.
Written and self-produced by Hill, The New York Times describes Letters from a Black Widow as
a concept album that “reckons forcefully with her past — not just the boldfaced part, but also the
myriad woes and distortions that conspired to make her feel fearful and less- than. The dozen
tracks that finally tumbled out chart her path of self-reflection and forgiveness, with achingly
personal lyrics paired with muscular funk, soul and blues, and backed by her shredding, soaring
guitar.”
The climactic single “Black Widow” finds Hill confronting the malign label that haunted her for
years, coined by tabloids and keyboard warriors because she collaborated with two of pop
music’s biggest artists – Michael Jackson and Prince – shortly before their deaths. She

struggled in the wake of undeserved hatred for years before recently finding the emotional
capacity to confront, reflect, and write about her experience.
“For years the Black Widow was such a dark presence in my life that was too looming and
intimidating to even talk about,” Hill says. However, a break from touring in 2020 provided Hill
with the time and space for a momentous reckoning. “Being forced to stop allowed me to reach
a deeper place, to really marinate and figure out what’s at my core, what I really needed to talk
about. I found I had the courage and strength to face all this – to be authentic to my core, to dive
into the whole experience, and turn an ocean of darkness into expressive fire.”
Letters from a Black Widow is a formidable battle cry that dives into Hill’s stories of discovery,
resistance and redemption, patched together with her signature unshakable soul and funk
foundations. The 12-track album also features previously released singles “Runaway Train,”
“Flame” and “Dame de la Lumière,” all of which have garnered critical acclaim from BET, V
Magazine, Entertainment Tonight, a video premiere with Rolling Stone, and more.
While Hill played many of the instruments – including self-taught electric guitar – this project is
not a strictly solo endeavor. It’s built on the unshakable musical foundation she has enjoyed for
most of her life: Hill’s band includes her parents, bassist Robert “Peewee” Hill and keyboardist
Michiko Hill. She’s also joined by a group of formidable friends, who contribute background
vocals.
In support of the album’s release, Judith Hill and her family band kicked off their European tour
in May with stops in 10 countries including Germany, France, Norway, and Spain. Next stop,
Middle C!

“Judith Hill is paying tribute to the sacrifice and fight of the powerful women who raised her.” –
Rolling Stone
“a funk-rock-soul scorcher.” – SPIN
“…a funk beat that lends it a celebratory feeling, [but] smacks of hard truths.” – NPR
“Hill’s voice is distinctive, soulful and has an earthy quality that makes it unique.” – LA Weekly

For More:
Read the April 2024 New York Times interview feature HERE.
Listen to Letters from a Black Widow HERE. 
Watch the video for “Black Widow” HERE. 
Visit Judith Hill’s WEBSITE.