Fantastic Negrito
The Last Days Of Oakland

Blackball Universe Records

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$38.00 SGD
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About

“Fantastic Negrito is a man’s truth told in the form of black roots music. Each song the true story of a musician from Oakland who experienced the highs of a million dollar record deal, the lows of a near fatal car accident that put him in a coma, and is now in the phase of rebirth despite his playing hand being mangled. Negrito’s music emphasizes rawness and space. Slide guitar, drums, piano. Rather than update the Delta Blues, Fantastic Negrito leaves the original sounds of Lead Belly and Skip James intact, building bridges to a modern sound with loops and samples of his own live instruments. But the primary element that drives Fantastic Negrito’s music is uncut realness and zero concern for “pop” anything.” – Fantastic Negrito

 

“Last Days Of Oakland is stunning proof otherwise. The birth of his son a few years ago reignited Dphrepaulezz's musical passion, and that passion drips from every hook, riff, beat, clap, croon and howl on the album. "Lost In A Crowd" — the song that beat out 7,000 other Tiny Desk entrants, and one he performed last year as part of his Tiny Desk concert — provides the record's emotional core, a stomping hymn of gospel intensity. "Lost in the wilderness of sound / Get through the day, don't drown," Dphrepaulezz sings. "Feelings of rage and broken bones," he adds later, drawing from his own deep well of frustration and struggle. Relief comes in the form of delicate, tenderly melodic interludes: "We're just people, lonely people, you and I." The dynamic is wrenching in the best possible way. "Working Poor" sticks to a steadier tone, as it mixes fuzzed-out blues with rich organ chords and a snarled commandment: "Don't sell your life."

As intense as Last Days Of Oakland is, it's filled with small moments of quietude, lushness and grace. Dphrepaulezz's band is impeccably tasteful, even when it's tearing out raw chunks of Zeppelin-esque rhythm in "Hump Thru The Winter." In the ballad "About A Bird," smoky jazziness mingles with spiritual fervor, while "Rant Rushmore" offers bittersweet reflection and regret, not to mention a chorus of amens, to counterbalance its profanity-laced tirade. Last Days Of Oakland is a powerful document — if not a full-on rallying cry — about bulldozing all the roadblocks life piles up through sheer force of will, talent and song. It's an angry album. It's a righteous album. It's a redemptive album. Ultimately, though, it's a celebration of hard-fought survival, something Dphrepaulezz knows all too well.” – NPR

 Item description:

Artist:

Fantastic Negrito ‎

Title:

The Last Days Of Oakland

Label:

Blackball Universe Records

Format:

Vinyl, LP

Pressing:

France

Release Date:

2016

Genre:

Blues, Rock

Style:

Blues Rock, Male Vocals

Catalog No:

BU008

Condition:

New