Fantastic Negrito’s Most Ambitious + Provocative Work to Date, White Jesus Black Problems Album, OUT TODAY
June 3, 2022
Fantastic Negrito’s Most Ambitious + Provocative Work to Date,
White Jesus Black Problems Album, OUT TODAY
“A stellar new album from Fantastic Negrito. Combining different corners of the Black musical world… timeless quality” – NPR Music
“A vibrant mix of raw blues, Prince-like funk and Stones rock’n’roll….Quite unlike anything else out there, it is a bit of a revelation” – The Times 4 Stars
“This tremendous synthesis of righteous rhetoric and gnarly, funk-flecked blues-rock… a potent tour de force” – MOJO 4 Stars
“Album number five finds him crafting a musical and thematic groove that thrusts his music further… a combination of Frank Zappa and Prince”
– American Songwriter 4/5 Stars
“The project is Negrito’s manifesto, a literal shout against oppression. His delivery system belies the lyrical impact with royal influences from Prince and Queen, jabbing you to set you up for lyrical body punches” – No Depression
“His most career-defining album to date… a searing, provocative impact” – GLIDE Mag
Today, three-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, musician and activist Fantastic Negrito (neé Xavier Dphrepaulezz) shares his most ambitious and provocative project to date, White Jesus Black Problems, out now on Storefront Records. Accompanied by a companion film, White Jesus Black Problems is a synthesis of so much – an ancestral journey, an unlikely love story, and even a self-discovery of one’s true name. This new project follows the artists’ acclaimed 2020 album Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? Sonically, White Jesus Black Problems is emotionally charged, mixing blistering rock and roll grit with infectious R&B grooves and buoyant funk energy to deliver a sound that manages to feel both vintage and experimental all at once.
White Jesus Black Problems was written, recorded, and filmed in Oakland, where Negrito grew up and currently resides. Combined with the visuals, WJBP yields a transcendent and immersive sensory experience, one that challenges our notions of who we are, where we come from, and where we’re headed. The multi-media work is based on the true story of his seventh generation white Scottish grandmother (Grandma Gallimore), an indentured servant, living in a common law marriage with his seventh generation African American enslaved grandfather (Grandfather Courage); in open defiance of the racist, separatist, laws of 1750s colonial Virginia.
Listen/Order White Jesus Black Problems HERE
Fantastic Negrito on White Jesus Black Problems –
“There’s a feeling out there right now that we can’t get anything done because we’re so polarized, so entrenched in our ideologies and unmoved by facts or logic, but I wanted to share this story because I think it smashes that narrative to pieces. I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors, both Black and white, who showed me that anything is possible. There was a lot of ugliness in their story, but there was a lot of beauty, too, because in the end, perseverance overcame.”
White Jesus Black Problems has been receiving applause across the board, including praising nods from NPR All Things Considered, NPR Music, MOJO, Pitchfork, Line of Best Fit, No Depression – just to name a few. In a four-star review, MOJO described the album as a “tremendous synthesis of righteous rhetoric and gnarly, funk-flecked blues-rock… a potent tour de force” and American Songwriter Mag draws comparisons to Prince as Negrito crafts his own, unique “musical and thematic groove that thrusts his music further.”
Following film premieres this past week at Fotografiska in New York City, the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, and The New Parkway Theater in Oakland, on Saturday, June 4th, Negrito will host a YouTube premiere for the entire White Jesus Black Problems film. Make sure to tune in at 12pm PT/3pm ET HERE
Watch the music video for “Nibbadip” HERE
Watch the music video for “Highest Bidder” HERE
Watch the music video for “Oh Betty” HERE
Watch the music video for “Trudoo” HERE
Fantastic Negrito announced a string of shows, including Celebrate Brooklyn, Bottlerock Festival, Electric Forest, and the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Fest. Find out more about Fantastic Negrito’s tour dates here: HERE (Full tour routing below)
Praise for White Jesus Black Problems
“The immediacy of “Highest Bidder” illustrates the importance of Fantastic Negrito’s artistry. Each single is delivered with such urgency and potency to drive home a message he can contain no longer”
–– Billboard
“Ambitious Ancestral Concept Album”
–– SPIN
“White Jesus Black Problems is an ambitious political project… with fluid blues guitar and lively African-inspired drums”
–– Consequence of Sound
“Coming through for Oakland’s creative community… he calls out the cruelty of capitalism”
–– San Francisco Chronicle
“Coming out with songs that chew on some of the heaviest issues of our time, and move both body and mind”
–– KQED
”A funky, wah-laden melding of delta blues and disco, which examines the commercial forces that often propel humanity’s worst behavior.”
–– Guitar World
Tour Dates
June 10 – UC Theatre in Berkeley, CA
June 14 – Aladdin Theatre in Portland, OR
June 15 – Neptune Theatre in Seattle, WA
June 17 – Sound of Music Festival in Burlington, ONT (Canada)
June 18 – BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! in Brooklyn, NY
June 20 – Sinclair – Boston, MA
June 21 – Ardmore Music Hall – Philadelphia, PA
June 22 – 930 Club in Washington DC
June 24 – Electric Forest Festival in Rothbury, MI
June 25 – Hollywood Bowl Jazz Fest in Los Angeles, CA
July 11 – Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht, Netherlands
July 12 – La Cigale in Paris, France
July 14 – 16 Toneladas in Valencia, Spain
July 15 – Independence Club in Madrid, Spain
July 16 – Sala Upload in Barcelona, Spain
July 18 – Technopolis in Athens, Greece
July 20 – Teatro Romano in Fiesole, Italy
July 21 – Il Vittoriale Degli Italiani in Gardone Riviera, Italy
July 22 – Blues Festival in Pordenone, Italy
July 24 – Balena Festival in Genova, Italy
July 26 – Jazz Cafe in London, UK
July 27 – Jazz Cafe in London, UK
July 29 – WOMAD in Malmesbury, UK
Aug 13 – Craig Ranch Amphitheater in Las Vegas, NV (One Nation Under A Groove Tour w/ George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic)
Sept 9-11 – Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion in Bristol, TN
Sept 14-15 – Highmark Blues & Heritage Festival in Pittsburgh, PA
Sept 30 – Mempho Music Festival in Memphis, TN
Oct 6 – Liquidroom in Tokyo, Japan
Oct 7 – Shangri-la in Osaka, Japan
White Jesus Black Problems tracklist
1. Venomous Dogma
2. Highest Bidder
3. Mayor of Wasteland
4. They Go Low
5. Nibbadip
6. Oh Betty
7. You Don’t Belong Here
8. Man With No Name
9. You Better Have A Gun
10. Trudoo
11. In My Head
12. Register of Free Negroes
13. Virginia Soil