Black to the Future is the fourth and final studio album by British jazz group Sons of Kemet. It was released via Impulse! Records on 14 May 2021[1] to widespread critical acclaim from music critics.[2]
| Black to the Future | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 14 May 2021 | |||
| Studio | Livingston Studio 1 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 51:07 | |||
| Label | Impulse! | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Sons of Kemet chronology | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.6/10[3] |
| Metacritic | 84/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Clash | 9/10[5] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[6] |
| The Independent |  [7] |
| Loud and Quiet | 8/10[8] |
| Mojo | [9] |
| NME | [10] |
| The Observer | [11] |
| Pitchfork | 7.4/10[12] |
| The Skinny | [13] |
The album received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 16 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[2] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 8.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[3]
Accolades
edit| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paste | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 26
|
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Field Negus" (featuring Joshua Idehen) | 3:03 |
| 2. | "Pick Up Your Burning Cross" (featuring Moor Mother and Angel Bat Dawid) | 3:44 |
| 3. | "Think of Home" | 3:32 |
| 4. | "Hustle" (featuring Kojey Radical) | 5:18 |
| 5. | "For the Culture" (featuring D Double E) | 4:01 |
| 6. | "To Never Forget the Source" | 2:55 |
| 7. | "In Remembrance of Those Fallen" | 5:06 |
| 8. | "Let the Circle Be Unbroken" | 6:29 |
| 9. | "Envision Yourself Levitating" | 8:22 |
| 10. | "Throughout the Madness, Stay Strong" | 5:53 |
| 11. | "Black" (featuring Joshua Idehen) | 2:42 |
| Total length: | 51:07 | |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from Mojo review.[9]
Sons of Kemet
- Theon Cross – tuba
- Shabaka Hutchings – tenor saxophone, woodwinds
- Tom Skinner – percussion
- Edward Wakili-Hick – percussion
Additional musicians
- Steve Williamson – tenor saxophone
- Joshua Idehen – vocals
- Angel Bat Dawid – vocals
- Moor Mother – vocals
- D Double E – vocals
- Kojey Radical – vocals
- Lianne La Havas – vocals
Charts
edit| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] | 26 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] | 59 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] | 32 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] | 18 |
| Swedish Jazz Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] | 3 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] | 59 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[21] | 54 |
References
edit- ^ Allnutt, Chris (28 April 2021). "Saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings: 'If I stop playing, I feel that physical yearning'". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ a b c "Black to the Future by Sons of Kemet". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Black To The Future by Sons of Kemet reviews". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Jurek, Thom. Review of Black to the Future at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Watkins, Mike (12 May 2021). "Sons Of Kemet - Black To The Future". Clash. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ St. Michael, Jonathan (12 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet Contextualize the Past on 'Black to the Future'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ O'Connor, Roisin; Nugent, Annabel (13 May 2021). "Album reviews: The Black Keys – Delta Kream, and Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future". The Independent. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Walton, Sam (10 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future - Album Review". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ a b Eccleston, Danny. "Wind power". Mojo (June 2021 ed.). p. 83.
- ^ Balram, Dhruva (13 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet – 'Black To The Future' review: rage, resentment and hope". NME. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Empire, Kitty (15 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet: Black to the Future review – an eloquent dance between anger and joy". The Observer. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Adjei-Kontoh, Hubert (21 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet: Black to the Future". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ Goggins, Joe (10 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future album review". The Skinny. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Paste. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Veckolista Jazz, vecka 20" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
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