Kamasi Washington is a tenor saxophonist, composer and bandleader from Los Angeles. His recordings include The Epic, Heaven and Earth and Fearless Movement, alongside music written for the screen. He has worked with Kendrick Lamar and performs in Dinner Party with Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and 9th Wonder. His projects often involve collaborators he has known for years, including musicians associated with the West Coast Get Down collective. Large ensembles, choir and strings have been part of his recorded work.
Washington began playing saxophone at thirteen and attended Hamilton High School's music academy. While still in high school, he formed the Young Jazz Giants with Ronald Bruner, Stephen Bruner and Cameron Graves. He went on to study ethnomusicology on scholarship at UCLA. During that period, he recorded with the group and toured with Snoop Dogg. He also joined Gerald Wilson's orchestra and toured internationally with Raphael Saadiq.
In 2015, Washington worked on Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly and released The Epic through Brainfeeder. The three-disc album runs nearly three hours and features his band, the Next Step, with a string orchestra and choir. His 2017 project Harmony of Difference took a different form: a six-movement composition presented at the Whitney Biennial with visual elements. Five separate musical themes come together in the final movement. Washington described the use of counterpoint as a way to consider how different voices can coexist.
Heaven and Earth followed in 2018. He also collaborated on its companion short film, As Told to G/D Thyself. Washington later composed the score for Becoming, the documentary about Michelle Obama. The score received an Emmy nomination in 2020 and a Grammy nomination in 2021. His screen work also includes the main title theme for the animated series Lazarus, which received an Emmy nomination in 2025. The series was broadcast by Adult Swim.
On Fearless Movement, released in 2024, Washington emphasized rhythm and dance. The record includes André 3000 playing flute and appearances by George Clinton and D Smoke. Washington has described dance as physical expression, an idea that shaped the album's development. In 2026, he shared the Grammy for Best Rap Song as a credited songwriter on Lamar's "tv off," a credit shared with Kendrick Lamar, Sounwave and other writers.
