Olivia Dean Credits Bell Hooks for Inspiring ‘The Art of Loving’ After Major MOBO Wins
Olivia Dean is making it clear where her inspiration comes from.
The 27 year old UK singer took home three of the biggest honors at the 2026 MOBO Awards, including Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best Female Act for her sophomore album The Art of Loving. While accepting Album of the Year, Dean used the moment to recognize the influence behind the project, dedicating the work to bell hooks and other Black feminist writers.
“This album was really just born out of me wanting to write something about love, and really what it means to me and us loving each other,” Dean said during her acceptance speech.
She continued, “I want to just dedicate this…to bell hooks and all the Black feminists that inspire me to love better and love the people in my life.”
How Bell Hooks Shaped the Album
From the opening moments of the album, Dean’s connection to bell hooks is clear. The intro track references the phrase “gotta throw some paint,” a metaphor rooted in hooks’ writing that frames love as something that requires effort, intention, and action.
That idea traces directly back to All About Love: New Visions, a widely studied work first published in 1999. In the book, hooks challenges traditional ideas of love, arguing that it is not just a feeling but a deliberate practice built on care, commitment, trust, and respect.
Dean has said the album was created in conversation with those ideas. In an interview with Rolling Stone UK, she described the project as a response to hooks’ work and even credited the book with influencing the album’s title.
A Deeper Look at Love and Learning
Dean said her goal with the album was to better understand how people give and receive love.
“Love is something I have always been interested in,” she said. “For some reason, it’s seen as this mystical, untouchable thing…In ‘All About Love,’ bell hooks is like, imagine if we had a class…so that we could teach each other…how to fill each other with care.”
That perspective shaped the tone of the album, which leans into self reflection, emotional awareness, and intentional relationships.
Industry insiders also noted Dean’s approach during the album’s creation. Capitol A and R executive Willem Ward said the singer was “intentional with everything she does,” including reading authors like bell hooks while developing the project.
The Lasting Impact of Bell Hooks
The influence of bell hooks has extended far beyond academia and into modern culture, especially in recent years. After her passing in 2021, her work reached a wider audience, particularly during a time of renewed focus on social issues and cultural identity.
Dean’s album reflects that continued impact, drawing from a lineage of Black feminist thought that includes figures like Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, Patricia Hill Collins, and Roxane Gay.
With The Art of Loving, Dean joins a growing group of artists who are bringing those ideas into mainstream music, translating theory into something personal, accessible, and widely heard.
