Anjimile

Anjimile Chithambo is a Black trans folk singer-songwriter born in 1993 and raised in Dallas, Texas, now based in Durham, North Carolina. He began playing guitar at age eleven and sang in choirs from fifth grade through college, developing early under the influence of his father's records, particularly Zimbabwean musician Oliver Mtukudzi, as well as Iron & Wine (whose Our Endless Numbered Days was formative to his guitar technique) and Sufjan Stevens.^[1]

He attended Northeastern University in Boston studying the music industry. A period of addiction led to rehabilitation in Florida in 2016, where he got sober and wrote most of the songs that would become his debut album.^[1] He had previously identified as a lesbian for a decade before coming out as transgender. Testosterone therapy transformed his voice by roughly an octave, a shift he has described as changing not just his vocal range but his entire musical personality.

His 2020 debut Giver Taker (Father/Daughter Records) was named one of NPR's 50 Best Albums of 2020 and led Rolling Stone to profile him as an "Artist You Need to Know."^[2] He signed to 4AD and released the EP Reunion in 2021, followed by the album The King in 2023. His fifth studio album, You're Free to Go, arrived in March 2026 on 4AD. Produced by Brad Cook in Durham, North Carolina, with collaborators including Nathan Stocker (Hippo Campus), Matt McCaughan (Bon Iver), and Sam Beam of Iron and Wine, the record marks a deliberate shift from grief and rage toward openness and love. Cook described the songs as "some of the bravest, most uncompromising writing" he had encountered.^[3]

In 2022 he toured with Hurray for the Riff Raff, a creative relationship that would prove formative: Alynda Segarra's 2024 album The Past Is Still Alive directly inspired "Waits For Me" on You're Free to Go. He was also featured on McKinley Dixon's acclaimed 2023 album Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?, extending his reach across genre boundaries.^[3]

A recurring thread in his work is his estrangement from his mother, who has not accepted his gender transition. He has described the fracture plainly in interviews, noting both the grief of it and his refusal to let it silence him.^[4] He has said: "I'm not going to stop making music because the government hates my identity."^[5]

He has spoken openly about the ongoing material challenges of his artistic life. As of early 2026, he was without healthcare and unable to afford testosterone treatments, navigating the realities of trans life without institutional support.^[6] His daily grounding practices include dendrology (the study of trees), meditation, time in nature, journaling, and community.^[6]

Anjimile's creative identity is shaped by sobriety, his Black Malawian heritage, his trans experience, and an embrace of ethical non-monogamy. His work weaves together acoustic folk intimacy with spiritual yearning, candid self-examination, and a deep generosity toward the listener.