White Jesus Black Problems

Fantastic Negrito conceived his fourth album as something more than a conventional record. White Jesus Black Problems is indeed a tightly constructed collection of funky contemporary blues, but its accompanied by a film that allows Fantastic Negrito to fully explore the projects familial genesis. He bases White Jesus Black Problems on his seventh-generation grandparents -- an African-American grandfather who was a slave and a white Scottish grandmother who was an indentured servant. The couple lived in a common-law marriage, flouting the laws and conventions of 1750s colonial Virginia. Negrito spent a considerable time researching their story and their times, writing nearly 50 songs before whittling down to the lean, finished product of White Jesus Black Problems. Through the editing process, Negrito concentrates on the love that bound his ancestors, a focus that does make the moments when he addresses slavery, either in song or in cinematic interludes, quite bracing. Fantastic Negrito quite deliberately doesnt anchor White Jesus Black Problems in the blues. More than anything, the high-octane funk recalls Prince at his hardest, but the tapestry of harmonies, syncopated rhythms, call-and-responses, and cranking guitars can be a little dense; its an album that shuns passive listening. Which isnt to say White Jesus Black Problems is a bleak record. Even with its weighty themes, there are such moments of joy as the updated doo-wop "Nibbadip" and, ultimately, Fantastic Negrito lands White Jesus Black Problems on a hopeful note. Love conquering all can sometimes be a hackneyed notion, but here Fantastic Negrito makes it feel earned. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

3度のグラミー受賞歴を誇るモダン・ブルースの代表格。約2年ぶりの新作は自身の祖先を調べ、そこからインスピレーションを受けたもので、音楽とセットになるフィルムも製作されたコンセプト作となった。音楽的には彼独自の切れ味鋭いブルースを聴かせる一方、サザン・ソウルやゴスペルなどアメリカ南部音楽の影響も色濃く出ている。いままで以上にアーシーな部分が強調された新境地のアメリカーナ作だ。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二