Fantastic Negrito | Interview | New Album, ‘Grandfather Courage’
Soulful singer, songwriter, musician, and activist Fantastic Negrito releases today his brand new album ‘Grandfather Courage,’ a reimagined acoustic version of his acclaimed 2022 album ‘White Jesus Black Problems’.
The multimedia project tells the defiant tale of his seventh generation white Scottish indentured servant grandmother Betty Gallimore who was living in a common law marriage with his seventh generation African-American enslaved grandfather, Grandfather Courage, in the face of the racist, separatist, laws of 1750s colonial Virginia. Fantastic Negrito shares, “The incredible story of my seventh generation grandparents was so profound. I reimagined it through the lenses of my touring band. Please check it out unplugged unapologetic reimagined.”
A larger than life character, Fantastic Negrito’s own story is stranger than fiction. He first released an album in 1996, but a near fatal car crash in 1999 effectively ended the first chapter of his career. It resulted in him spending three weeks in a coma and initially losing almost all movement in his right hand, drastically limiting his ability to play guitar. Effectively reborn under his new artist identity of Fantastic Negrito, his career got underway when his phenomenal, charismatic performance won NPR Music’s prestigious Tiny Desk Concert Contest.
All three of his previous studio albums have won the GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Blues album: ‘The Last Days of Oakland,’ ‘Please Don’t Be Dead’ and ‘Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?’. He has toured with artists as varied as Sturgill Simpson and Chris Cornell, collaborated with Sting and E-40, launched his own Storefront Records label, and founded the Revolution Plantation, an urban farm aimed at youth education and empowerment. He is also confirmed for several film screenings with performances and to play a show in Italy in March 2023 as guest to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
Order ‘Grandfather Courage’ by Fantastic Negrito here!
“It’s stripped down, it’s raw, it’s intimate”
Do you feel that you can give a more intimate side to the songs that will be released on ‘Grandfather Courage,’ which is a reimagined acoustic version of your 2022, ‘White Jesus Black Problems’?
Fantastic Negrito: Yes, definitely. It’s stripped down, it’s raw, it’s intimate. You can definitely connect with the audience more than you can with an electric band.
The story telling of your heritage is spine-chilling, what was the experience like for you thinking about your family and what they went through during the decades? Was the songwriting process any different this time around?
The experience was life changing. I could feel the ground beneath my feet move. I could feel the spirits calling me. It was as if these voices started speaking and I was a conduit. It felt like a speeding train, and my job was to just get on it.
No songwriting experience is the same. They’re all different. This one was much more personal. I stood back and let the songs write themselves.
Your music is full of intensive energy and delivery. How do you see the relationship between the musician and the space where the musician is recording?
When I was recording ‘Grandfather Courage,’ I wanted to imagine I was a college student living in a dorm with no money and just a few microphones. I wanted to reimagine the songs through the lens of a made-up college student. In order to become inspired to record one must rely heavily on the imagination.
“Everything that is good and challenging influences me”
What would you say influenced you the most? Have influences changed during the years, music-wise?
Everything that is good and challenging influences me. The influences fluctuate and you try to gravitate towards the things that will push you creatively.
What was the recording process like for the band?
I think we were really happy to be in the same room recording because it was the first time. We had never recorded together and this was a first. We were all very excited and appreciative to be there. I wanted a lot of space in these recordings, they were all mostly one takes. It was refreshing because I toured with these guys all over the world.
Thank you for taking your time. Last word is yours.
It’s hard to believe I’m 55. I made it this far. I’m happy to share and contribute. I really hope people keep an open mind to ‘Grandfather Courage,’ this reimagined version of my album ‘White Jesus Black Problems’.
Klemen Breznikar
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