SONS OF KEMET RELEASE BRAND NEW MUSIC VIDEO FROM CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ALBUM BLACK TO THE FUTURE
“PICK UP YOUR BURNING CROSS” FEAT. MOOR MOTHER & ANGEL BAT DAWID
“It’s a beautiful paean to the power of Black artistry and creativity, and it’s badass as hell.”
Stereogum
“With a moral urgency as fierce as its rhythms…”
Pitchfork
“An album that’s constantly in motion, full of twists and turns that grab you by surprise…”
Brooklyn Vegan
19 MAY 2021 (TORONTO, ON) – Following the group’s release of its critically acclaimed album Black To The Future, Sons of Kemet release a moving music video for “Pick Up Your Burning Cross” today via Impulse! Records/Universal Music Canada, the country's leading music company.
Watch the video for "Puck Up Your Burning Cross" HERE
For “Pick Up Your Burning Cross,” the core group – Theon Cross (tuba), Edward Wakili-Hick (percussion), Tom Skinner (percussion) – recruited two American musicians: singer-composer Angel Bat Dawid from Chicago and poet-activist Moor Mother from Philadelphia, to emote over the strength it takes to strive for black power. Directed by Ashleigh Jadee, the music video for “Pick Up Your Burning Cross” gracefully depicts the message of “reconnecting with ancestral energies by confronting our fears and insecurities,” as explained by bandleader Shabaka Hutchings.
GET BLACK TO THE FUTURE HERE
TICKETS FOR SPRING 2022 TOUR ON SALE NOW
With special guests such as Grime emcees D Double E and Kojey Radical, UK poet Joshua Idehen, and other talented acts, Black To The Future is a bigger affair than previous Sons of Kemet records. The dynamic album 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.
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.”
For Black To The Future, Shabaka sequenced and named each track in a specific order so that the song titles reflect a single poetic statement to which a depth of symbolic meaning can be intuited in combination with the music/sonic information.
The statement reads: “Field negus - pick up your burning cross - think of home - hustle - for the culture - to never forget the source - In remembrance of those fallen - Let the circle be unbroken - Envision yourself levitating - Throughout the madness, stay strong - Black.” Read Shabaka Hutchings’ mission statement here.
BLACK TO THE FUTURE 2022 TOUR DATES
3/27/22 – UNION STAGE – WASHINGTON, DC
3/28/22 – UNDERGROUND ARTS – PHILADELPHIA, PA
3/29/22 – WEBSTER HALL – NEW YORK, NY
3/31/22 – THE SINCLAIR – BOSTON, MA
4/1/22 – CORONA THEATRE – MONTREAL, QC
4/2/22 – MOD CLUB – TORONTO, ON
4/4/22 – LINCOLN HALL – CHICAGO, IL
4/5/22 – FINE LINE – MINNEAPOLIS, MN
4/7/22 – IMPERIAL – VANCOUVER, BC
4/8/22 – NEUMOS – SEATTLE, WA
4/9/22 – STAR THEATRE – PORTLAND, OR
4/11/22 – INDEPENDENT – SAN FRANCISCO, CA