ABOUT
Saint Bodhi’s music is eclectic and bold because it had to be. The Los Angeles singer and songwriter dives deliriously between expansive sounds and styles—aquatic R&B, dreamy rap, and avant funk, among other genres—as a way of conveying the complexity of her history and emotions. She looks to both past and present with unflinching honesty on her acclaimed 2020 debut Mad World, which digs through the traumatic memories of a tough childhood and toasts the hard-won success of her recent years. On 2021’s vibrant Antisocial, she continues to enjoy the blessings of her rise, preserving a peace that took decades to attain by both turning up and looking inward, making kaleidoscopic songs that feel deeply meditative and quietly anthemic.
“I was extremely honest with this record,” says Bodhi, and you can sense it not just in the lyrics but the overall expression. Both words and sound reflect someone who’s comfortable living in her own world—planting her freak flag on a highly custom technicolor planet for one. She pits piano-driven R&B ballads of heartache (“Hurt Like Me”) against sex-positive bangers (“Get Like This”), and trunk-rattling moments of spiritual crisis (“Guide Me to the Light”) against smooth, lounge-ready cuts about mental anguish (“Antisocial”). The album’s title underscores that this is her space, and we’re just lucky to get to visit. That’s fair—opening up to has been a process.
After growing up in South Central L.A., Bodhi parlayed her early love for an eclectic mix of powerful songwriters—Nina Simone, Nirvana, Billie Holiday, The Beatles, Eminem, Stevie Wonder—into a burgeoning songwriting career. Her talent and tenacity carried her into writing rooms with the likes of Cortez Bryant and Teddy Riley. Her hustle paid off when she landed a publishing deal, and quickly became an in-demand writer, collaborating with top-tier artists like A$AP Rocky, Jaden Smith, and Kevin Gates. She even earned a 2021 Grammy nomination for her work on Lecrae’s “Sunday Morning” duet with Kirk Franklin. But when she started recording colorful demos of her own, it became clear that her artistry went beyond serving others’ visions.
Since signing with Def Jam, Bodhi’s moved from behind-the-scenes to fully fledged star. Mad World was bolstered by poignant single “FlowerChild,” which displayed Bodhi’s soulful vocals and offered glimpses of her upbringing: “Feet hit the pavement, sirens are blarin’ / Crackheads’ll get ya what ya need, how much you payin’?” The song received praise from Revolt, Teen Vogue, and FADER, which highlighted its “cutting lyricism.” You could also hear sharp writing on tracks like “Pray,” where Bodhi delivered stern warnings to anyone who might “test her love.”
Similarly, Antisocial finds Bodhi grappling with her skepticism of others. “I don’t like how humans operate at times,” she says. “I try to stay away from trouble, because my fuse is shorter than other people’s.” Of course, while keeping the world at arm’s length in her life, Bodhi continues to embrace her boundless discovery of self and sound in her work. It’s energetic, exploratory, and vast, which may seem odd, but that’s Bodhi: she contains multitudes, and so does her music.