MuMu has shared her new single entitled “Brooklyn Tonight (Unplugged).” The track was written and produced with Jamie Lawrence, with contributions by Jack Broza (guitar) and Carlos Henriquez (bass), who is best known for working with Wynton Marsalis.

MuMu on “Brooklyn Tonight (Unplugged):”

“‘Brooklyn Tonight Unplugged’ was initially inspired by a friend asking me to write a song about being the only queer person in the room. Then my love brain took over and it turned into a queer lady love song because, well, we need more of those. This is an acoustic version of the original for those queer lady slow jammers.”

MuMu grew up on the Upper West Side in a house bursting with women — so much so that her family nicknamed it The Brothel — the young musician found early guidance in artists like Pink and Elton John, spangled pop stars who made her feel less alone in a home rife with addiction and mental illness. “Pink just spoke to this angsty child who was growing up in an environment that felt completely out of control,” MuMu says.

MuMu started writing songs at age nine — the same year her father left — but she was too shy to perform them. Instead, she whispered them to her goldfish, Pete and Andrew, and hid scraps of lyrics in the lining of the couch. Songwriting gave MuMu a sense of agency she severely lacked, even if she wasn’t ready to share them. MuMu attended a performing arts high school, where she studied musical theater. She went on to appear in plays, commercials, movies, like David Chase’s Not Fade Away; TV shows like Nurse Jackie and Law and Order SVU. She made her Broadway debut in Donald Margulies’s The Country House. Most recently, she wrote all the songs for — and starred in — the 2020 movie Best Summer Ever, which also featured Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Benjamin Bratt.

Embracing one’s body, women’s rights, and other themes related to sexuality and gender run throughout MuMu’s music — mostly due to her third guardian angel, an activist godmother who has spent her life advocating for children’s rights. “She gave me this power I wasn’t getting anywhere else,” MuMu says of Mary Sochet, who provided her with a haven as a child and got her involved in protests early on. “Mary taught me the importance of using my voice for change.”

She spent much of her time upstate working with Lawrence, releasing new songs and live sessions at a lightning-fast clip, including her most recent track, the party-perfect “Brooklyn Tonight.” “The song is about being at a party in Brooklyn and wondering, ‘Why am I here? How am I going to get home with the F-ing F train down?’” she says. “And then, just when it seems like the worst night ever, I meet this beauteous human.”

From abortion rights to hookups, from sparkling highs to soul-wrenching lows, MuMu finds inspiration in all facets of life. Still, she doesn’t just want to challenge people with her music — she wants to inspire, uplift, move. “Women are sometimes confusing, and they’re complicated. My music is a window into that experience. But it’s also fun – it’s pop. And if the message is too much for someone at that time, hopefully, they can just dance.”