Qur'an Shaheed

Qur’an Shaheed (b. 1992, Pasadena, CA) is a pianist, poet, singer and songwriter based in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, CA. She has been playing piano since the age of four, trained extensively in classical and contemporary music. Since 2012 she has been developing her practice as a songwriter alongside her solo piano and ensemble work. She released the album Process, with producer Jesse Justice and Preference Records, in 2020 and regularly performs in and around Los Angeles. Her sound is innovative, highly personal, and experimental, incorporating elements of improvisation as well as neo-classical and neo-soul techniques.

Qur’an Shaheed’s debut album, Pulse, is a bold sonic experiment across ambient sonic terrains. With this record, Shaheed—a pianist, poet, and vocalist from Pasadena, based in Inglewood—fuses formal classical training with a deep commitment to improvisation. Guided by spurts of instinctual, jazzy vocalization and lyrics that incant dreams of an exalted future, Pulse transcends genre, capturing a journey toward presence, revelation, and a liberated poetics of sound.