Naima Beauford

Naima Beauford is a Memphis-born R&B critic whose work for NPR and Pitchfork established her as one of the careful chroniclers of Black women's recorded music in the late twentieth century. Her writing focuses on the intersection of regional American music scenes, archival research, and oral history.

In her debut biography, The St. Croix Years, she turns her analytical eye toward the lesser-known historical developments of mid-century Caribbean soul. Her work relies on deep archival research and direct conversations with the musicians who shaped the era.

She lives in Memphis, Tennessee, where she works as an independent music archivist and spends her weekends collecting vintage soul and R&B vinyl.