An epic amalgamation of gospel, blues, country, and even a little punk, White Jesus, Black Problems was one of the best rock albums of 2022. Now West Oakland soulman and living blues icon Fantastic Negrito (aka Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz) returns with Grandfather Courage, an all-acoustic rendering of the full album. The original was his most ambitious work to date, coming complete with a full film based on the story of on his seventh-generation grandparents (an African-American grandfather who was a slave and a white Scottish grandmother who was an indentured servant), their illegal common law marriage, and the love and politics that flow from that deep, winding history. There’s something equally (if not more) captivating about the simple acoustic interpretations on Grandfather Courage, tapping into the easy, freewheeling musical connection between Dphrepaulezz and his touring band. Earthy, thumping flesh and blood.
