Born Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, by now much has been said about Fantastic Negrito’s unique story: his early years growing up in an orthodox Muslim household, the failed major label deal that took him out of the music industry altogether, the near-fatal car accident that permanently damaged his guitar-playing hand, as well as the remarkable arc of redemption that began in 2015, when he won the first NPR Tiny Desk contest.

In the years that followed, Fantastic Negrito would take home three consecutive GRAMMY Awards for Best Contemporary Blues Album, tour with artists like Sturgill Simpson, Chris Cornell and Bruce Springsteen, collaborate in the studio with the likes of Sting and E-40, would launch his own record label, Storefront Records, perform at Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Newport Folk, Bryon Bay Blues, WOMAD and just about every major festival on the map, and found Revolution Plantation, an urban farm aimed at youth education and empowerment.

With his second album, “The Last Days Of Oakland”, winner of the 2016 Grammy for best contemporary blues album, the American Fantastic Negrito (real name, Xavier Dphrepaulezz) entered the black music circuit with force. “Blues with punk attitude”, he defines himself. And it is. One of the rawest (sonically and emotionally) musical collections released that year, replete with hard-won life perspective. Urgent and visceral, with rage, protest and autobiography.

After spending years in therapies against pain, due to a car accident that in 1999 kept him in a coma for three weeks, he shows the scars that only survivors have. A fighter who managed to win in 2015 the Tiny Desk Contest organized by NPR (American public radio), a contest whose aim is to discover unknown talents and without a record contract; the station chose him winner among nearly seven thousand applicants. To participate, he sent a video of him and his band performing his song “Lost In A Crowd” in an Oakland freight elevator. “It was his passion, his voice and his band that won us over. We’re proud of our choice,” communicated NPR. As subtle and sophisticated as he was willing to put the fifth gear to his slide, this son of a family of fifteen children from the Californian Bay Area came to sign in the 90s an Interscope Records distribution contract, but that story ended in water under the bridge and left only a forgotten debut album, “The X Factor” (1996).

After the 2017 re-release of “The Last Days Of Oakland” with two new tracks, “Push Back” and “The Shadows”, in June 2018 came his third LP, “Please Don’t Be Dead”, composed with desperation and urgency around the fears that assail him due to the current socio-political context. A work that meant him taking his second consecutive Grammy, also in the category of best contemporary blues album. And in August 2020 he released his fourth LP, “Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?”, of which he released three advance singles (“Chocolate Samurai”, “How Long?” and “Searching For Captain Save A Hoe”) and with which he won again at the Grammy Awards in the category of best contemporary blues album. In June 2022 he released a new LP, “White Jesus Black Problems”, in which he moves away from the blues-rock conventions and from which in February 2023 he released a sequel, “Grandfather Courage”, where he reimagines in an acoustic key the songs of his predecessor.

LIGHTSPEED

This Belgian quartet explores their affinity for atmospheric guitar playing and lyrical prowess, exhibiting a sincere indie rock showcase. Influenced by a variety of iconic Britpop bands and lyrical masters, LIGHTSPEED traverses an expansive soundscape and ambience to deliver what feels like a dream in outer space.

Report by ‘24/7 Valencia’ team

Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’

FANTASTIC NEGRITO + LIGHTSPEED

Thursday

November 21

2024

9:00 p.m. (doors) / 9:30 p.m. (concert)

Early entry €25(+gg) (movingtickets.com); €30 box office. (Sale at the box office subject to availability)

TICKETS: https://movingtickets.com/Entradas-Fantastic-Negrito-Gira-2024-concierto-en-16-Toneladas-Valencia/