Aela Hopeful Monster – The Sylvia Plath of rap

Street Meets Soul • Blues-Infused Hip Hop

Recording artist, founder of Your Favorite Monster LLC (record label), scientist & environmental justice advocate.

A lover of the smell of moss, back seam stockings, street art, and other ephemeral things, Aela Hopeful Monster is the moniker of Chicana artist, scientist, and environmental justice advocate Micaela (Aela) Martinez. Through blues-infused hip hop, visual art, and storytelling, her work explores love, reimagining, beauty, and our connection to place. Her albums include Lovesick, Storybook, Confessional Poetry, and Neo G-Funk.

Also known as the Sylvia Plath of rap, for her highly narrative and personal form of writing, Aela experiments with different styles of soul-, blues-, and jazz-infused hip hop, sampled loops, and Cali G-funk. She has collaborated with producers from around the world including TooBusy (Switzerland), Nicholas Craven (Canada), Camoflauge Monk (Buffalo, NY), and Mofak (France).