Pussy Riot Announce Debut Mixtape, ‘Matriarchy Now’

Russian activist outfit Pussy Riot are set to release their debut mixtape next month. The group will release the seven-track Matriarchy Now collection on Friday, 5th August.

As Rolling Stone reports, the forthcoming collection will be a star-studded affair, featuring collaborations with Salem Ilese, Phoebe Ryan, mazie, Slayyyter, and Big Freedia. To promote the release, the group have shared the single ‘Plastic’, which features US rapper ILoveMakonnen.

Pussy Riot – ‘Plastic’ ft. iLoveMakonnen

While Matriarchy Now is described as the group’s debut mixtape, it’s not the first collection of Pussy Riot songs. It’s preceded by a handful of mini-albums, including 2012’s Убей сексиста, 2015’s, Wont Get Fooled Again, and 2017’s In Riot We Trust, while the majority of the group’s discography consists of singles.

The title of the mixtape recalls a banner the group hung from the third floor of the Texas State Capitol back in June 2022 in protest of the impending removal of reproductive rights for women. In a manifesto surrounding the announcement, the group focus heavily on the topic, demanding bodily autonomy for women around the world.

“Body autonomy is a pillar of modern civilization,” the group explain. “There’s no human rights as we know them without body autonomy taken as an axiom. People with wombs demand body autonomy.

“We demand our rights, we don’t ask for it. Don‘t like abortions? Don’t make them. Oh yes, and did you know? Vasectomy prevents abortions.”