FANTASTIC NEGRITO – LOWER THIRD, LONDON 8.2.23
Fantastic Negrito is one of the more interesting artists plying their wares today. Known by his parents as Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, this is actually his second musical career. Initially managed by Prince’s former manager, he signed to Interscope Records in 1993. At this point he very much wanted to be A STAR. Trading under the name Xavier he released an album called ‘The X Factor’ in 1996. In 1999 he was in a near fatal car crash which left him in a coma for three weeks. At this point Interscope dropped him. Disillusioned with the music business he quit, but returned in 2014 as Fantastic Negrito with an album of the same name.
Which brings us to tonight’s event, and it is very much an event. It commences with a film, then there is a question and answer session with the man himself, followed by a live performance. If that wasn’t enough, he comes down to the merch stand to chat as we purchase t-shirts and CDs.
The actual purpose of tonight’s show (although it isn’t advertised as such) is to promote the album ‘White Jesus Black Problems’, which was released last year. The film is essentially a series of videos for the songs on the album, which itself tells the story of his seven times great-grandparents. Their story was very unusual for the time, not to mention the then illegality of their relationship. The great-grandmother was a Scottish indentured servant, whilst the great-grandfather was a black slave. They had seven children together, and to say that this was frowned upon doesn’t even begin to describe the situation!
The film itself features the Fantastic Negrito band, together with scenes depicting the stories told in the album’s songs. There are no professional actors in the film, not that you’d know that, the performances are so good. The roles are all played by friends and colleagues. It looks like they probably had a lot of fun, but that notwithstanding, it is a very convincing film.
During the Q&A Fantastic Negrito (I’m not sure what to call him: Fantastic? Xavier?) proves himself to be an engaging raconteur. He has a great understanding of racial politics, which sadly is as important now for a black person in the USA as it has always been. His surname is a construct invented by his father, so that the family didn’t have a slavery related surname (like ‘Clay’ for example). Not only that it confused the white man: how was it pronounced? It turns out there is no correct pronunciation. His father was much older than his mother, being born in 1905, so had much experience of life prior to the Civil Rights Act being passed in the US.
Fantastic Negrito tells us that he slaked his musical thirst when he was young by sneaking into the music rooms at the University of Berkeley to try out instruments. He is a self-taught guitarist and pianist. The current album was written during lockdown when he investigated his heritage, and discovered the story of his seven times great grandparents, who for the purposes of the album he has re-christened Grandfather and Grandmother Courage, very aptly I may say.
For the live portion of the show, Fantastic Negrito is joined by pianist Brian from his band. The bulk of the songs appear to be from either ‘White Jesus Black Problems’ or from upcoming album ‘Grandfather Courage’. A notable exception is ‘In The Pines’, a traditional song also known as ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night’, which is probably best known for being covered by Nirvana on their ‘Unplugged In New York’ album. Fantastic Negrito recorded it on his Grammy winning ‘The Last Days Of Oakland’ album.
This is very much a stripped down performance, but importantly loses none of its power as a result. The audience mostly plays rapt attention, apart from one guy in a suit who insists on talking loudly throughout. Eventually Fantastic Negrito offers him his money back: “I’ll buy you out!”. The guy promises to be quiet. Fantastic / Xavier is really funny throughout, without taking away the gravity of the songs’ message. This has been a fabulous, intimate gig. I’d be amazed if anybody who attended didn’t walk out having become a huge fan. I have a feeling that in years to come the people in that room will be proud to be able to say: “I was there”.
You can currently watch the whole ‘White Jesus Black Problems’ film HERE. The album of the same name can be located HERE.
