The American Negro
| The American Negro | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 26, 2021 | |||
| Studio | Linear Labs (Los Angeles, California)[1] | |||
| Genre | R&B[2] | |||
| Length | 52:39 | |||
| Label | Jazz Is Dead | |||
| Producer | Adrian Younge | |||
| Adrian Younge chronology | ||||
| ||||
The American Negro is a studio album by American record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge. It was released on February 26, 2021, through Jazz Is Dead. It received generally favorable reviews from critics.[3]
Background
Adrian Younge is an American record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from Los Angeles.[4] The American Negro is a part of a multimedia project released to coincide with Black History Month.[5] A four-episode podcast, Invisible Blackness with Adrian Younge, features guest appearances from Chuck D, Ladybug Mecca, Keyon Harrold, and Michael Jai White.[5] A short film, T.A.N., is written, edited, directed, and scored by Younge.[5]
The American Negro dissects "the evolution of racism in America and systemic challenges faced by people of color."[6] In a 2021 interview, Younge said, "It's as if James Baldwin hooked up with Marvin Gaye to make a record produced by David Axelrod."[7] The album's cover art depicts Younge hanging from a tree, designed to look like a lynching postcard.[6] "James Mincey Jr." is a tribute song to the man of the same name, who was killed by police chokehold in 1982.[8] He was the uncle of Loren Oden, who provides vocals on the song.[8]
The album was released on February 26, 2021, through Jazz Is Dead.[6]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 64/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [8] |
| Flood Magazine | 9/10[9] |
| The Observer | [10] |
| Pitchfork | 4.0/10[11] |
| Record Collector | [12] |
| The Sydney Morning Herald | [13] |
| Uncut | 6/10[14] |
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, The American Negro received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 64 out of 100 from 4 critic scores.[3]
Ammar Kalia of The Observer described the album as "a 26-track part-spoken word, part-orchestral examination of the structural racism underpinning the identity of modern America."[10] He added, "it is Younge's impassioned spoken-word interludes – dissecting everything from the Frantz Fanon-referencing double consciousness of racial awareness to the creation of racism to solidify class structures – that give this record its unique tone and profundity."[10] Charles Waring of Record Collector stated, "A mixture of spoken narrative and music, Younge channels the spirits of Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, creating immersive jazz-infused soul and funk grooves."[12] Andy Kellman of AllMusic commented that Younge "addresses the audience with warmth and love throughout the album, spreading knowledge and impelling action without being excessively didactic."[8]
Meanwhile, Stephen Kearse of Pitchfork commented that "Younge is clearly writing from a place of real indignation, but his hamfisted diatribes are so lifeless and incoherent the record collapses under the inertia."[11] He called The American Negro "a concept album without an essence, agitprop that doesn't know what it's agitating for, citing everything and saying nothing."[11]
Accolades
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Vinyl Factory | 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 31
|
Track listing
All tracks are written by Adrian Younge, except "James Mincey Jr." co-written by Loren Oden and "Light on the Horizon" co-written by Sam Dew.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Revisionist History" | 1:30 |
| 2. | "The American Negro" | 4:36 |
| 3. | "The Black Broadcast" | 0:46 |
| 4. | "Revolutionize" | 3:22 |
| 5. | "Double Consciousness" | 0:40 |
| 6. | "Watch the Children" | 1:55 |
| 7. | "Dying on the Run" | 2:31 |
| 8. | "Intransigence of the Blind" | 0:57 |
| 9. | "James Mincey Jr." | 2:41 |
| 10. | "Disadvantaged Without a Title" | 0:39 |
| 11. | "Mama (Will You Make It)" | 1:50 |
| 12. | "The Black Queen" | 0:07 |
| 13. | "Margaret Garner" | 2:56 |
| 14. | "Race Is Fallacy" | 1:50 |
| 15. | "Light on the Horizon" | 3:06 |
| 16. | "A Symphony for Sahara" | 3:05 |
| 17. | "America Is Listening" | 0:27 |
| 18. | "The March of America" | 2:19 |
| 19. | "Paradox of the Positive" | 0:07 |
| 20. | "The Death March" | 2:09 |
| 21. | "Black Lives Matter" | 1:20 |
| 22. | "Rotten Roses" | 3:07 |
| 23. | "Jim Crow's Dance" | 1:14 |
| 24. | "Patriotic Portraits" | 2:12 |
| 25. | "George Stinney Jr." | 5:01 |
| 26. | "Sullen Countenance" | 2:16 |
| Total length: | 52:39 | |
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.[1]
- Adrian Younge – dialogue, instruments, production, recording, mixing
- Linear Labs Orchestra – performance
- Loren Oden – chorus
- Sam Harmonix – chorus
- Chester Gregory – chorus
- Jazmin Hicks – chorus, photography
- Dave Cooley – mastering
- Andrew Lojero – executive production
- Julian Montague – album design
References
- ^ a b "The American Negro | Adrian Younge". Bandcamp. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "Favorite R&B Albums | AllMusic 2021 in Review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ a b c "The American Negro by Adrian Younge". Metacritic. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Kellman, Andy. "Adrian Younge". AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ a b c Arnone, Joey (February 2, 2021). "Adrian Younge Announces New Multimedia Project and Album, Shares New Single". Under the Radar. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ a b c Shaffer, Claire (February 2, 2021). "Adrian Younge Announces New Album 'The American Negro,' Shares Title Track". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Kalia, Ammar (February 24, 2021). "'Lynching was treated as a celebratory event': Adrian Younge on the history of US racism". The Guardian. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Kellman, Andy. "The American Negro - Adrian Younge". AllMusic. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Amorosi, A.D. (February 24, 2021). "Adrian Younge, "The American Negro"". Flood Magazine. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ a b c Kalia, Ammar (March 7, 2021). "Adrian Younge: The American Negro review – a profound undertaking". The Observer. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ a b c Kearse, Stephen (March 5, 2021). "Adrian Younge: The American Negro". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ a b Waring, Charles (April 2021). "New Albums". Record Collector. p. 127.
- ^ Cunniffe, Jessie; Shand, John; Smith, Barnaby; Zuel, Bernard (July 30, 2021). "Felicity Wilcox's need to escape constraints is bizarrely satisfying". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Lewis, John (May 2021). "New Albums". Uncut. p. 35.
- ^ "Our 50 favourite albums of 2021". The Vinyl Factory. December 9, 2021. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
External links
- The American Negro at Discogs (list of releases)