- Well, what I do wanna know,
is I wanna know about baby Moses.
What were you like as a kid?
- Well, they found me in the reeds,
in the river. [laughs]
[lively instrumental music]
♪ ♪
- Here we are, all by ourselves.
Awaiting our next guest,
the beautiful songbird Mr. Moses Sumney.
♪ ♪
We're so excited.
We can't hide it.
Come on, come on! Let's go!
[gong resounds]
[drum sticks clacking]
♪ ♪
Ah!
- [laughs]
- [laughing]
- What is this, "The Ellen Show"?
[laughter]
Nice.
♪ ♪
- Welcome to "Centerpiece." - This is gorgeous.
- I heard you like scary movies,
so I thought I'd start by scaring you.
- I'm truly terrified, so thank you. - [laughing]
And now, let's take a journey to the center.
[laughing]
When did you start singing?
- It's like different levels.
Like, I started thinking of singing
when I was seven years old.
I started practicing singing consistently when I was 12 or 13.
But I never sang publicly.
I never sang in church. - What?
- I never performed.
Yeah, I was very shy.
- Seriously? - Yeah. [laughs]
- Your voice is stunningly beautiful.
- Thank you.
- I've heard through the grapevine
that, like, your dad is a pastor.
- Yes. - My dad is--was a pastor.
- Oh, cool.
- And just being raised in the church,
like, that was my sense of blackness.
Do you see how that's informed
your practice as an artist?
- I definitely approach music
with a sense of sacredness.
A nice art with a kind of sacred respect.
- So talk to me about the idea of gray.
- Identity for me is not this nor that,
and therefore gray is somewhere in the middle.
You know, I'm not African and American.
In a lot of ways I feel like I'm this third thing,
this third nebulous identity.
- Wow.
[light chiming]
And now, let's go deep.
♪ ♪
[light chime]
The question is, are you ready?
- The answer is no. [laughs]
- Carmen Sandiego,
or Where's Waldo?
- Yo, Carmen Sandiego, that fit used to be so fire.
♪ ♪
- Sportin' Wave or Murray's?
- [laughing]
Murray's.
♪ ♪
- White pussy...willow
or black pussy willow?
- Mom, is this okay? [laughs]
♪ ♪
- These are real things.
- Um, black pussy willow.
♪ ♪
- Here's the most important question of all of this.
You make these beautiful a capella improvisations
and they're just stunning.
[scatting] - [chuckles]
- Can you do a vocal interpretation
of my essence?
- [high-pitched screech]
- [laughing]
- ♪ Ooh ♪
♪ Oh-ooh ♪
♪ Ooh ♪
♪ Ooh-ah ♪
♪ Ooh ♪
- Well, damn!
[light chiming]
MAURICE: Girl, it's time to process.
Moses talks about occupying a space that defies definition,
somewhere in that beautiful shade of gray.
When I listen to his music,
I am truly and honestly transformed.
The way the sounds wash over my body and my soul,
I actually see a place,
a world outside of this one
that I am gonna create through flowers
where he now can be seen.
So you can't tell me this ain't gonna be bomb.
[drumroll]
This was such a labor of love.
You shared such amazing things with me.
You were kind of blowing my mind in all these different ways.
So hopefully, I'll have a similar effect on you.
Cue the curtain!
MOSES: Wow.
[laughs]
This is so beautiful.
MAURICE: I just appreciate how you speak about liminal space,
how you speak about the in-between
like nothing is black or white.
It stays in a gray zone.
So we really tried to work in a color scale.
- Oh, wow, this is so beautiful. It's like a home.
MAURICE: Yeah.
MOSES: It's like an igloo of beauty.
- Your music speaks volumes to me specifically.
And I imagine I'm not the only person.
MOSES: I'm honored that
the work could resonate in any kind of way.
- I think it's time for some music, though.
- [laughs] - Will you grace us?
- I'll try.
I'll try to rise to the beauty of this space.
MAURICE: Oh, please.
Ladies, gentlemen,
and those who don't conform, Moses Sumney.
[playing "Polly"]
- ♪ Are you dancing with me? ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Or just merely dancing? ♪
♪ ♪
♪ Polly, Polly, Polly ♪
♪ ♪
[vocalizing]
♪ ♪
♪ One, two, three, four, five, six ♪
♪ Am I just your Friday dick? ♪
♪ Cornucopia of just-in-cases ♪
♪ You'll never have to chase this ♪
♪ Whoa, Polly, oh, Polly ♪
♪ Obviously don't think much of me ♪
♪ Polly, yeah, oh, Polly ♪
♪ Polly, yeah, Polly, yeah ♪
♪ Polly, yeah ♪
♪ Polly, yeah, Polly, yeah ♪
♪ Polly, ooh ♪