Ahya Simone facts for kids

Ahya Simone, a talented artist from Detroit.

Ahya Simone is an American artist born on September 4, 1992. She lives in Detroit and is well-known for playing the harp. She also created and starred in a web series called Femme Queen Chronicles.

Early Life and Learning

Ahya Simone grew up in Detroit, Michigan. She sang in her church choir. At 16, she started playing the harp at Cass Technical High School.

While attending Wayne State University, she shared that she is transgender. She was the main harp player for the university's symphony orchestra.

Ahya Simone's Career

Music Journey

After college, Ahya Simone wanted to perform music in new ways, beyond classical styles. She began playing R&B and soul songs. She looked up to artists like Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane.

In 2018, she worked with dream hampton to create music for the short film Treasure. That same year, Ahya Simone received a special award called the Kresge Artist Fellowship. She was the first Black transgender woman to receive this award. Also in 2018, she teamed up with the artist Kelela on a music project called Take Me a_Part, the Remixes.

Besides playing the harp, Ahya Simone is also a singer and songwriter. Her music mixes R&B, jazz, experimental sounds, and electronic music. She released a song called "Frostbite" in 2020. Later, she made a music video for "Frostbite" with other local artists. In 2021, she worked with cktrl on his song "mazes".

Songs Released by Ahya Simone

• "Frostbite" was released in June 2020.
• "Liminal" featuring Tapiwa Svosve was released on December 31, 2024.

Other Creative Work

In 2015, Ahya Simone helped start the Trans Sistas of Color Project Detroit. This group helps support transgender women of color. Through this group, she launched a funny web series pilot called Femme Queen Chronicles. The show is about four transgender women living in Detroit. Ahya Simone has compared it to TV shows like Living Single and Chewing Gum.

Ahya Simone created the series to show positive stories about Black transgender people. She wanted to share their experiences without ignoring the real challenges they face. She is the director, writer, and also stars in the series. Femme Queen Chronicles first came out in 2018 and was well-received. She received money from the Knight Foundation to help make the series. As of 2025, she is working with Janet Mock to turn the show into a TV series.