Fantastic Negrito

Musician and visionary Fantastic Negrito takes a deep dive into the themes of mental health that permeate his music. A self described "recovering narcissist," he and Lily discuss the years he spent on tour with Lily's dad, how he creates art for the greater good, and the many lives he's lived in one.

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Originally aired OCTOBER 5, 2020

When you listen to Fantastic Negrito, you’re invited to hear the story of life after destruction. Each song is a real story about a musician from Oakland who experienced the highs of a million-dollar record deal, the lows of a near-fatal car accident that left him in a coma and is now in the midst of a rebirth that took him from the streets of Oakland to the world stage.

The narrative of this man is as important as the sound because the narrative is the sound. Songs born from a long hard life channeled through black roots music. Slide guitar, drums, piano. Urgent, desperate, edgy.

Negrito burst on to the national radar by winning the inaugural NPR Tiny Desk contest in 2015 and has since won Grammys for his first two albums: The Last Days of Oakland (2017) and Please Don’t Be Dead (2019). His third album, Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?, arrived in the summer of 2020 and includes features from fellow Tiny Desk winner Tank (Tank and the Bangas) and Bay Area legend E-40. 

fantasticnegrito.com