[1][2] The improvising quintet consists of vocalist Camae Ayewa (also known as Moor Mother), drummer Tcheser Holmes, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, saxophonist Keir Neuringer, and bassist Luke Stewart.

[12][13] The members of Irreversible Entanglements met through music and activism: bassist Luke Stewart shared bills with Camae Ayewa's band the Mighty Paradocs; saxophonist Keir Neuringer worked with Books Through Bars, whose events Ayewa has emceed; and the trio of Ayewa, Stewart, and Neuringer was followed by the duo of Aquiles Navarro and Tcheser Holmes at a 2015 Musicians Against Brutality event following the shooting of Akai Gurley.

[1][3] Their 2017 debut, Irreversible Entanglements, was included in best-of-year lists in The Wire,[5] The Quietus,[7] NPR Music,[9] and in Stereogum's Best Jazz of the Decade for the 2010s.

[12] Their second album, Who Sent You?, was celebrated as among 2020's best in The Wire,[6] Magnet,[8] Stereogum,[13] AllMusic,[14] and NPR Music's 2020 Jazz Critics Poll.

[18] Irreversible Entanglements performed in the inaugural season of the Kennedy Center's "Direct Current" contemporary culture showcase.