Black To The Future

Sons of Kemet

Black To The Future

Fourth album from the London-based jazz group led by Shabaka Hutchings

ADM rating[?]

8.5

Label
Impulse!
UK Release date
14/05/2021
US Release date
14/05/2021
  1. 10.0 |   The Arts Desk

    'Black to the Future' really grabs things by the throat
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  2. 10.0 |   The Skinny

    Shabaka Hutchings and Sons of Kemet return with Black to the Future, the group's best work to date
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  3. 10.0 |   Gigwise

    A masterpiece from start to finish
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  4. 10.0 |   NME

    The experimental jazz quartet, led by Shabaka Hutchings, recruit Kojey Radical, Lianne La Havas and more for an incendiary evocation of Black Lives Matte
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  5. 10.0 |   Albumism

    Demonstrates the immense power of the quartet, as they inch their way towards wider audiences beyond those that traditionally consume jazz music and point, once more, to Shabaka Hutchings’ figurehead status among British musicians of any genre
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  6. 9.0 |   All Music

    Musically and culturally, Sons of Kemet not only holistically conceive of a future, they begin to create one right now
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  7. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    Black To The Future is both musically and thematically bold and important. It is a major statement contextualising the present, aiming to better understand the past and, hopefully, providing a provocation for a better future
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  8. 9.0 |   Clash

    A revelatory set, one that will remain relevant for some time
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  9. 8.5 |   Spectrum Culture

    Armed with a host of likeminded guests, Sons of Kemet continue to stretch the elastic boundaries of jazz with another triumph
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  10. 8.3 |   Beats Per Minute

    Black To The Future, in both its taut and tranquil manifestations, reminds the listener that activity starts by examining the strife that festers within. And, in that pursuit, hopefully, none of us stand completely alone
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  11. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Sons of Kemet prove themselves leaders of London jazz with Black To The Future
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  12. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Shabaka Hutchings and co’s urgent fourth album, much of it recorded after the murder of George Floyd, nevertheless lifts the spirits and feeds the soul
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  13. 8.0 |   The FT

    The quartet’s fourth album explores different experiences of black identity, culture and history
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  14. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    The music is raw, melodic and explosive, and captures the inner reflection one must undertake to properly envision the future
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  15. 8.0 |   Record Collector

    Compelling proof that British jazz is leading the way right now. Print edition only

  16. 8.0 |   The Independent

    Never once do Sons of Kemet compromise on their fiercely individual sound
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  17. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    While the guests are sporadically compelling – in particular Kojey Radical’s urgent growl on ‘Hustle’ – the record works best when the instrumentalists are left to their own devices on side two
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  18. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Some of the guest vocalists on this LP approach this level of militancy but, in places Black To The future is also poppier and dancefloor friendly than anything Hutchinson has ever released. Print edition only

  19. 8.0 |   Mojo

    It's sonically deeper and more emotionally engaging, from start to finish, than any previous SOK release. Print edition only

  20. 7.5 |   Under The Radar

    While it may not take over the world, it is a perfect record for this moment in time as an expression of collective weariness in the midst of an almost two-year and counting pandemic worldwide, the spectre of Brexit in the UK, and amidst the struggles of the civil rights movement in the U.S. to stop police brutality and mass incarceration
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  21. 7.4 |   Pitchfork

    Shabaka Hutchings leads his brass band on a propulsive mind- and body-moving record, advocating through music that change comes from speaking directly about collective oppression
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  22. 7.0 |   Crack

    While the album lacks some of the intensity that makes the group’s live show so irresistible, it makes up for it with its open-ended lyricism, speaking through Hutchings’ horn as much as through the voices of the guests
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