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 former law professor turned 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: https://jazzisdead.lnk.to/AdrianYoungeTAN.
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.
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