ADRIAN YOUNGE’S THE AMERICAN NEGRO
Multi-Instrumentalist, Composer, Producer
and Former Law Professor Shares Powerful
New Album featuring Music & Spoken Word
Out Now via Jazz is Dead: LISTEN HERE
Takes an Unapologetic Critique Detailing the Systemic & Malevolent Psychology Afflicting People of Color,
from Multi-Instrumentalist Composer,
Producer and Jazz Is Dead Co-Founder
‘Invisible Blackness’ Podcast Available Now via Amazon Music
& ‘T.A.N’. Film Trailer Due Next Week via Prime Video
“In Adrian Younge’s Ambitious New Project,
James Baldwin Meets Marvin Gaye” – VULTURE / SWITCH ON POP
"Unapologetically Black, bold, and beautiful are just a few notes
to share about Adrian Younge’s new song." – ESSENCE
"It all warrants a lot of deep study and consideration... a very impactful project...
it felt like being taken to school with this record." – NPR "ALL SONGS CONSIDERED"
“Younge’s album puts luscious orchestral arrangements and spoken-word
interludes to use in creatively unfurling the development of
structural racism in the US.” – THE GUARDIAN
"...composer/producer Adrian Younge who gives an impassioned
speech and takes you through a dreamy jazz sequence
in 'The American Negro" – SPIN
"6 New Albums You Should Listen to Now" – PITCHFORK
"The very talented psychedelic soul/jazz/hip hop/etc
musician Adrian Younge..." – BROOKLYN VEGAN
"a hardheaded manifesto, in spoken words and 1960s-rooted music,
about the pervasiveness of racism." – THE NEW YORK TIMES
"More down to earth, dirtier, politicized, riveting, and sad in
regard to its wrenching emotive politicized outlook is Younge’s
bold, new The American Negro." – FLOOD MAGAZINE
"an unflinching, provocative album... nod to Blaxploitation film scores, classic soul, and Younge’s own work with artists like Jay Z and Wu-Tang Clan." – WNYC NEW SOUNDS
"...an important contribution to the canon of African-American
political music and a heavy listen." – VANCOUVER SUN
Read More Interviews with Adrian Younge:
Adrian Younge just released The American Negro via his Jazz Is Dead label. The powerful album features music and spoken word from Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer and sees Younge sharing an unapologetic critique detailing the systemic and malevolent psychology that afflicts people of color. Younge not only wrote, but played every instrument of the album’s rhythm section; he also orchestrated a 30-piece orchestra and recorded them in his analog studio. Hear previously released singles “The American Negro” and “Revolutionize” and stream The American Negro HERE
Adrian Younge
The album is part of his multi-multimedia project released in conjunction with Black History Month -- his most ambitious and deeply personal project to-date. To better explain the intricacies of the album’s message, he has released the Amazon Music-exclusive podcast Invisible Blackness with Adrian Younge including episodes featuring Chuck D, Digable Planets’ Ladybug Mecca, Keyon Harrold, and more; and short film T.A.N., which will be available on the Amazon Music mobile app and Prime Video.
The American Negro is a powerful, multifaceted statement that reflects perennial injustices and serves to act as a lever of change during a time of mass disillusionment: an album for the people that details the evolution of racism in America. The American Negro is not for the faint of heart, including the album cover art--a recreation of “Lynching Postcards” that became celebrated the murder of African Americans at the hands of White Americans as vigilante justice at the turn of the last century, with no judicial reprisals. Modernly, death by asphyxiation is a tool Police officers have used in killing innocent Black Americans: the lynching of the Black Americans has to stop.
Adrian Younge is a member of The Midnight Hour and has produced for entertainment greats ranging from Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar and Wu-Tang Clan. He’s composed for television shows such as Marvel’s Luke Cage (with Ali Shaheed Muhammad), and films including Black Dynamite. He owns the Linear Labs boutique record label and analog studio, and is co-owner of Jazz Is Dead. When he’s not working on scores for major studios or networks, he’s making albums that speak to his own artistry.
THE AMERICAN NEGRO | TRACK LISTING
01 - Revisionist History
02 - The American Negro
03 - The Black Broadcast
04 - Revolutionize
05 - Double Consciousness
06 - Watch the Children
07 - Dying on the Run
08 - Intransigence of the Blind
09 - James Mincey Jr
10 - Disadvantaged Without a Title
11 - Mama (You Will Make It)
12 - The Black Queen
13 - Margaret Garner
14 - Race is a Fallacy
15 - Light on the Horizon
16 - A Symphony for Sahara
17 - America is Listening
18 - The March on America
19 - Paradox of the Positive
20 - The Death March
21 - Black Lives Matter
22 - Rotten Roses
23 - Jim Crow's Dance
24 - Patriotic Portraits
25 - George Stinney Jr.
26 - Sullen Countenance
Adrian Younge | The American Negro
The American Negro (album) | Available everywhere Feb. 26, 2021 via Jazz Is Dead
Invisible Blackness (podcast) | Available exclusively on Amazon Music Feb. 4, 2021
T.A.N. (film) | Available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video & Amazon Music March 2021
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