Album Review: Blood Orange Sings To The Woes of Being A Negro Swan
Blood Orange has garnered a following that flocks to his avant-garde sound. He wears rhythms like jewels and cloths sewn together to create capes of music. Yet, in each jewel is a history and in each cloth is a tradition that is woven together like skin. Such an idea feels rightful for an artist singing to black depression in his new, powerful record: Negro Swan.
Statistically, people of color have lower rates of depression and suicide; with rates varying through lifespan. Yet, Blood Orange sings to the more nuanced layers of POC depression. For him, it is not that we are not sad, it is just we are trained, since childhood, to learn to carry our historical inheritance of oppression. From how to deal with cops to how to calm down a “BBQ Becky,” Negro Swan touches on the struggles to feel comfortable in knowing that your mere presence on this earth can be discomforting to people. Thus, as you hear tracks such as “Charcoal Baby,” “Hope,” “Family,” and “Nappy Wonder,” you are mystically warped into an unfortunately, normalized cruelty: prejudice.
Blood Orange, as an artist, is a testament to the notion of “black coolness;” enrapturing crowds with his chic, personal tastes and his ability to use them to further the artfulness of the black community. Yet, Negro Swan is an affront to the shame of knowing your culture is only “safe” when deemed entertaining or “cool”. Add his verses on what it is to be an LGBT person while being of color, and Blood Orange wraps you in the lyrical loneliness of knowing there is always “some reason” for why you are not let in through “the door” or people’s hearts. Still, “Orlando,” “Chewing Gum,” “Saint,” and “Smoke” have Blood Orange seeking hope.
Blood Orange could, most certainly, be considered the Sade of our time; having a voice that waves in celestial colors like The Northern Lights. For his fourth album, Negro Swan, he traveled to New York, Florence, Copenhagen, Los Angeles, Tokyo & Osaka. Each location was influential in creating fusions and fluidity through Blood Orange’s symphonies on systemic depression. From “Jewelry” to “Minetta” Creek instrumentals feels like whirlpools of lotus flowers; zipping through petals of self-realization. Yet, once again, the flowery nature of his sound, is only meant to be a bouquet for his survived tragedies. For More Information On Blood Orange And To Buy Negro Swan On August 24 Click Here.
