Culture Cabinet

In 2025, it feels easy to look at the state of the world and despair that the horrors we’ve been fighting again persist.

They might, but luckily, so does ZORA. 

BELLAdonna is the sophomore album of Minneapolis-based artist, producer, singer, and rapper, Zora Grey. But, more so, BELLAdonna is what Zora herself describes as a “revenge concept album on behalf of all black trans women.” 

Its subject matter and dark thematics are a departure from the lighter themes of her debut self-produced album, 2022’s Z1, but the quality seems to have only increased exponentially. Leaning into gothic horror inspiration from films like Nosferatu and Ms. 45, as well as the legend behind the 90s Memphis rap tape sigils, BELLAdonna takes the listener on a dark journey that at times borders on macabre, but one that is underscored by a high contrast of exciting and fun beats. The end result is a multi-faceted and layered album that is cohesive.

“I think when I first started writing this album, I knew that I wanted it to be kind of like my unhinged moment,” Zora says in an interview with Culture Cabinet. “I wanted it to be divesting from my first project. But, I didn’t know that I wanted it to necessarily be horror-themed until I had a lived life experience. And, this album is very personal to me. It is kind of like a retelling of my story, basically, just in kind of a monster movie way.” 

The inspiration for a horror-themed concept album only naturally derives from a personal horror Zora experienced. Just one month after releasing her first album, she experienced a sexual assault in a nightclub. 

“I was in a very dark place,” she says of her experience. “I’ve always been a super fan of horror movies. I was watching a lot of horror movies that had an almost positive monster lead. I was like, ‘Oh, interesting.’ That’s when I realized that I wanted to add in that horror element and make [my next album] a scary femme fatale monster story.” 

And from that pain, BELLAdonna was born. Featuring 16 tracks that are all written and produced by Zora, the album tells the story of Belladonna, a woman scorned, who possesses supernatural powers that help her claim revenge on behalf of wronged women. Like any story, there are villains along the way, including Belladonna’s father, mirroring Zora’s relationship with her own father. If it feels theatrical, it’s because it was intentionally made so. At one point, Zora considered writing BELLAdonna as a musical theatre score. But, the end result of a highly personal concept album feels exactly right. 

“I will say this is kind of my hardest album to listen back to, because it feels so like raw to me,” she says of her personal connection to the themes of the album. “I’m excited to grow up a little bit more so then I can listen to it from a distanced perspective.”

While BELLAdonna can boast Zora as a multi-hyphenate, its creation afforded her the opportunity to collaborate with a number of other artists, including Destiny Spike, Kurt Cavalheiro, Miya Thornton, and Jaemy Paris and Duhgreatone. 

“It was just so, so great to be able to work with these fabulous artists,” Zora says of the collaborative process. “Destiny Spike is an amazing local Minneapolis act, and she’s an amazing rapper. She literally came into the studio, had something written, and then just finished it and recorded it in like one take. Like, that is the take that’s on the official record. She is just so talented. Working with Miya has always been amazing. We’ve been long-time collaborators since even before Z1, so working with her on this album and having her voice be sprinkled throughout other tracks was super, super amazing. And also, working with my newfound sisters, Jaemy Paris and Duhgreatone, they are two fabulous femme queens. I would consider them icons, I am so honored that they were able to use their voices on this album. And then, Kurt also has been a long-time friend, and he had also engineered this album and my previous album as well. So having him be able to play guitar on ‘tinytown’ was super sweet.” 

In speaking with her, Zora is upbeat, friendly, and easy to talk to. We make pleasantries over our shared love of theatre and horror films. But even in just hearing her speak about her music, it’s clear that there’s the mind of a genius at work. Someone who can write your next favorite song, create a full-fledged story, and engineer a song to its highest quality all in one go. Her talents are on full display with BELLAdonna, which is sure to be just the next chapter in an inevitable success story. 

But, as for what she hopes is next, Zora definitely has some ideas. She’s excited at the idea of doing a hyper-pop album, á la an artist like cupcakKe, one of her favorite artists. But, she also wants to delve into genres like jazz, pop, or musical theater. A diverse mix that only reflects the diverse appreciation of music that she clearly possesses. 

Though, for now, she’s just thrilled to be taking this next step, and excited at the actionable change she hopes her music brings. 

“I think that the biggest thing that I want people to take away from my music is just feeling a sense of empowerment and feeling a sense of wanting to take action. I’m very politically active and also just active in general when it comes to community aid and just being around my community. I also really want to make sure that people like me know that our life doesn’t have to always just be hard, or like how the media portrays us. So I think if anything, I want women to be able to really resonate with my music, especially this BELLAdonna album, and understand kind of the story on a different level. I really want to just promote love and positivity.” 

She laughs as she adds, “I do just want people to turn up. Like, I really just want people to listen to my music, and be in the club with their friends, and just vibe out. I just want people to be surrounded by love and community and everything.” 

BELLAdonna is out tomorrow, January 17, via Get Better Records. You can stream ZORA below.