Sons of Kemet announces new album – Black to the Future
The Mercury Prize-nominated outfit’s new album will be released on Impulse! Records
Last updated 30th Mar 2021
The multi-Jazz FM Award-winning saxophonist and composer Shakaba Hutchings is back after announcing a new album – Black To the Future – with the critically acclaimed outfit Sons of Kemet.
Black to the Future is the band’s fourth record and their second with the legendary Impulse! Records. The record reflects on the events of 2020, including the reaction in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the protests sparked across the world.
Featuring a host of star vocalists across the album, including International Anthem’s Angel Bat Dawid, poets Moor Mother and Joshua Idehen, and grime artist D Double E, the first single from the record – ‘Hustle’ - features Kojey Radical with backing vocals from singer Lianne La Havas. 'Hustle' has been released with a dance-inspired metaphorical video directed by Ashleigh Jadee.
Watch Sons of Kemet's ‘Hustle ft. Kojey Radical’
Black to the Future begins and ends with powerful lyrical and musical statements of rage and frustration, expressed outwardly in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the subsequent BLM protests. The album flows inwards from the start and finish to deeper, inner journeys – looking to forgotten cosmologies and searching for new ways of existing.
Reflecting on the record, Shabaka Hutchings says, ‘Black to the Future is a sonic poem for the invocation of power, remembrance and healing. It depicts a movement to redefine and reaffirm what it means to strive for black power.”
“The meaning is not universal and the cultural context of the listener will shape their understanding,” he continues. “Yet in the end, the overarching message remains the same: For humanity to progress we must consider what it means to be Black to the Future.”
When is Sons of Kemet's Black to the Future released?
Black to the Future will be released on the 14th of May 2021 through Impulse! Records.