Five albums for Black History Month

Five+albums+for+Black+History+Month

James Lepinsky Contreras

  1. Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming (2011, Daptone)

Genre: R&B/Soul

Verdict: The real deal, no time machine present.

The late Charles Bradley was cut from the same cloth that made James Brown and Sam Cooke musical deities. However, despite his natural talents, it took four decades for Bradley to finally make a name for himself. On his four albums with legendary soul revivalists Daptone Records, Bradley collaborated with the Menahan Street Band to create a discography filled with heart-wrenching, powerful gems.

The first album, “No Time for Dreaming,” details the hardships of life while celebrating the fruits of his labor. Bradley sings about tragic tales of losing his brother (“Heartaches & Pain”), struggling to survive in the country he was born and raised (“Why Is It So Hard?”), and losing a lover (“In You, I Found a Love”). Many of the stories that Bradley shares with us are not uncommon – death, heartbreak, joy, and work. The only difference is that Bradley’s portrayal of these emotions are just so real. Very few albums have a sense of honesty so palpable that makes it hard to turn away. When you hear the first lines of “Heartaches & Pain,” you can’t help but feel it.

Instrumentally, the Menahan Street Band recall the sounds and songwriting of Motown and Stax, and are as funky as you think they would be. Much like anything Daptone Records puts out, the album comes through with a sound that separates the Menahan Street Band and Bradley from the retro acts.

Unfortunately, the world lost a special voice on September 23, 2017, when Bradley passed away as a result of stomach cancer. His recordings still live on, and are a constant reminder to celebrate all that life gives us – the good, the bad, and the in between. Through the great joys and pains of just living the best life you can, comes a voice that many generations can appreciate. Rest in power.

  1. Mavis Staples – If All I Was Was Black (2017, Anti)

Genre: Gospel

Verdict: Wholesome Mavis is my favorite Mavis.

“If All I Was Was Black” is an ode to love, friendship, and compassion in the 21st century. Mavis is a perfect combination of soul and gospel music, from her part in the legendary gospel family band the Staple Singers. From her expansive catalog to her achievements in civil rights, it’s easy to see why Mavis is considered a living legend. Furthermore, Mavis is in a new phase in her career, by collaborating with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco fame on her latest releases.

The Mavis-Tweedy duet on “Ain’t No Doubt About It” is as wholesome as they come. Tweedy wrote majority of the songs on this album, and enlisted his Wilco bandmates and son Spencer to paint a sonic background so that Mavis can take the stage with her passionate voice. Many of the songs on the album center on optimism after hard times in “No Time for Crying,” friendship in “Build a Bridge,” and empathy in “We Go High.” The title track is a heartfelt ballad on looking past skin color and seeing everyone as human.

Listen to the full 35 minutes of “If All I Was Was Black,” be sure to listen to it with a friend by your side. And give them a hug too while you’re at it.

  1. Algiers – The Underside of Power (2017, Matador)

Genre: Ummm… all of them?

Verdict: Where have you been all my life?

This is how an album should be done. An album that brings forth the energies of a Baptist mass and a punk show in seamless fashion, with some black lipstick and eye shadow for a touch. Algiers is a band that hails from Atlanta, Georgia, with members from London and New York City. This is their self-titled debut album on indie rock powerhouse label Matador – responsible for Pavement, Liz Phair, Iceage, Interpol, etc.

There are several bands that have likely influenced Algiers – Nine Inch Nails, Nick Cave, Depeche Mode, Motown – but this band is as original as they come. The album has such an edgy energy that will make both goth and gospel fans pleased as punch. Frontman of the group Franklin James Fischer’s vocals are just filled with so much soul. Fischer wails, screams, and whispers throughout the track listing, making for an intimate and intense listening experience.

The band is also not afraid to get political at all – just refer to the lead single “Cleveland” for a verse where Fischer reads some of the men and women who have become casualties to the sickening police brutality problem in the United States. But it’s political fueled with a sense of optimism (“Alfred Wright, we’re coming back and any day now, it won’t be long”).

The production throughout “The Underside of Power” takes a lot of cues from industrial, noise rock, to even Atlanta hip-hop (“Cleveland” has a sharp instrumental with some trap flavors). The album is a sea of cacophony, but one that bites and punches and is sure to leave some bloodmarks.

  1. Danny Brown – Atrocity Exhibition (2016, Warp)

Genre: Experimental Hip Hop

Verdict: Rap’s soundtrack into the abyss of hell.

Danny Brown parties harder than you. Whether or not he’s proud of that fact is a little bit up to the listener’s interpretation. The internet has proliferated hip-hop in the 2010s, and in the era where rappers like Odd Future, Death Grips, and Lil B made “rapping like a weirdo” à la mode, Danny Brown was the unofficial party master of this era in hip-hop. His first two albums, “XXX” and “Old” embrace this party persona whilst also taking time to be reflective and introspective.

On “Atrocity Exhibition”, Danny Brown loses his mind. “Atrocity Exhibition” is an uncensored, completely rabid look in the mind of an artist completely consumed by his addictions and personal turmoil. And there is no opportunity to look away once you’re deep in the album. Like singer Ian Curtis said thirty-six years earlier, “this is the way, step inside” (Danny Brown references this lyric on the song “Golddust”).

I mention Ian Curtis, lead singer of post-punk band Joy Division, because he’s a big influence on the direction of this album. Brown named this 2016 album after one of Joy Division’s songs from their 1980 album “Closer”. This influence is reflected in the music and production as well – check out the unsettling cacophony on “Ain’t It Funny” to the weird industrial/hip hop hybrid beat on “When It Rain”.

With “Atrocity Exhibition,” Danny Brown proves that he is not your average rapper and can rap over instrumentals most rappers today wouldn’t dare to rap over, much less listen to. The result is an album so uniquely and beautifully disturbing. I don’t think he will ever be your average rapper for as long as he’s alive.

  1. Bad Brains – Bad Brains (1982, ROIR)

Genre: Hardcore punk

Verdict: Punk – Washington, D.C. in music form.

Washington, D.C. is always viewed as a “political” city – which is true but it’s barely half the story. The Capitol, the Supreme Court, the House and Senate reside here. But there is so much more to D.C. than just politics – which can be a yawnfest, as much as we may not want to admit that to keep up our politically aware personas.

Various music scenes have been born and thrived in the city, leaving a rich and deep musical history for the nation’s capital. Just look at Chuck Brown’s innovations in go-go, to the Takoma Park folk/acoustic guitar scene thanks to John Fahey. And lastly, we have punk rock, hardcore punk, whatever you want to call it.

The history of punk rock has always been recounted in the form of a linear story, a style that has been co-opted into pop culture thanks to the driving figures behind them – Lou Reed, Bowie, Iggy Pop, Ramones, the Clash, Minor Threat, Nation of Ulysses, you name it.

Bad Brains, however, is just as important as the other bands and artists I’ve mentioned, if not more important, to the creation and solidification of punk as we know it today. Bad Brains blended the energy of punk with music around the world, especially reggae. This blend was partly influenced by the Rastafarian movement that the band members followed. What is most impressive to me is how effortlessly this album became a classic.

Upon listening, you’ll notice how hard the self-titled debut album packs a punch. All the classic songs are on here – “Banned in DC”, “Fearless Vampire Killers”, “Pay to Cum”, “Right Brigade”, etc. Bad Brains also switch up the hardcore punk rhythms with reggae on some songs (check out “Jah Calling” and “Leaving Babylon” for the mellow rhythms that the band has to offer). Not only does the band show an impressive visceral energy, but are talented enough to showcase a stylistic variety that most punk bands would never bring in their whole careers.

“Bad Brains” is an important moment in music history, establishing the genre of hardcore punk and the city of Washington as the main purveyor of the exhilarating music. Not only is this a must-listen album for anyone who plans to live, study, or spend time in D.C., but a must-listen for anyone with any interest in music, from the most casual to the avid collector.