After the abhorrent overturning of Roe v. Wade at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, New York City singer/songwriter MuMu felt a responsibility to share her single, “Wrapped Up,” a song that retells real stories of three women who faced the challenges of unplanned pregnancy. It expresses the vitality of one’s right to choose, and the detrimental effects of those rights being taken away.

Today, MuMu shares an emotive live performance of the track. She additionally wrote the following essay, breaking down the song’s deeper meaning and the deeply moving, and relevant message it relays:

When I was a little girl, I didn’t fully understand the term “pro-choice.” I thought that meant I would be ok with having an abortion if the time came. One of my older sisters delicately explained to me that pro-choice isn’t about personal choice, it’s about acknowledging that everyone has the right to choose for themselves. A simple shift in perspective made all the difference.

As I got older, I realized that not everyone has a wise family member or friend to help them gain perspective. It’s difficult to determine what’s fair or just when we’re inundated with misinformation and skewed personal agendas. But it’s not my place to tell you that you’re wrong. I just tell stories – real stories about living, breathing women who have been overlooked and under-heard.

Verse 1 is about a small girl in a little town. She’s being raised by a neglectful mother who has had a string of abusive relationships. This little girl finds solace in a boy who tells her everything she wants to hear, for selfish reasons. She ends up needing an abortion and when she gets to the clinic, protestors scream and throw rocks at her. “They wanted a child to have a child of her own.”

Verse 2 is about a college student who’s worked hard in school and has big dreams for her future. She is drugged and raped at a party. Her mother blames her and pressures her to carry the baby to term. Everything she’s been working towards has been taken away by the decisions of others.

Verse 3 is about a single mother of six. She does not receive child support and works around the clock to support her children. When her ex stops by one night, she ends up pregnant again. She lives in a state without access to abortion care and she doesn’t have the funds or the time to travel somewhere that does. In a desperate moment, she tries to miscarriage at home. It goes terribly wrong.

Abortions have always existed and always will. They are part of our human herstory. There is written documentation of different abortion methods used all over the world. Archeologists have discovered instruments used to perform abortions that date back hundreds of years. Limiting abortion access does not prevent abortions from happening, it prevents them from being safe.

An abortion is not an easy choice to make, but it’s an impossible choice to make for a stranger. And if we take away the right to safe reproductive care, people will suffer. People will die.

I’ve had the honor of supporting friends while they go through the process of getting an abortion. I’ve never for a second gotten the impression that the process was easy. “Wrapped Up” is a love song to all the women out there who have braved the storm of misunderstanding. All the women who were pressured into a life they didn’t choose. All the women who resisted. All the women who rose up. And all the women who fell. I love you. You deserve better than this.

MuMu is a singer/songwriter based in Harlem, New York. Growing up in a house bursting with women (so much so that they nicknamed it ‘The Brothel’), she found early guidance in spangled pop stars who made her feel less alone in a home rife with addiction and mental illness. She began writing songs at age nine but was too shy to perform them. Instead, she whispered them to her goldfish 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.

After studying performing arts in school, MuMu began acting for television, film, and Broadway before deciding that she needed to tell her own stories. In 2018, she began collaborating with music producer and 5x Emmy winner, Jamie Lawrence, who helped craft her 2018 anthem “Free the Nip.” MuMu continues working with Lawrence tackling everything from women’s sexual satisfaction (in “Ladies First,” the sultry titular track from her 2019 EP), to never-ending political bullshit (in the rollicking “Battle Cry.”) More recently, MuMu combined her passion for songwriting with her acting skills in the musical film Best Summer Ever.

Order “Ladies First” by MuMu HERE