Darko The Super & U DONT DESERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL ART Present: BLKrKRT's Chamber Rap & Sakanouye no Tamuramaro-influenced 40th Release, Okinato Black (The Witzard Premiere)
<a href="http://uddtba.bandcamp.com/album/okinato-black">Okinato Black by BLKrKRT</a>
"
Okinato Black
is a reference to
Yasuke
, or
Sakanouye no [Tamuramaro]
, the legendary
African Shogun
of early
Japanese
civilization. He was known to be the paragon of military virtues and regarded as one of the most distinguished Black warriors of antiquity, yet still, he is largely unknown. The project is a response to the resurgence of
beats, popularized by
Wu-Tang [Clan]
, the proliferation of
Experimental Hip-Hop
producers using the legendary
Roland SP-404
, and my own fascination with the anime
Samurai Champloo
. The intention was to never limit the source or genre of samples, but through the usage, obtain a cohesion in sound,"
Texas
-based
Experimental Hip-Hop
producer
Phil Ford
aka
BLKrKRT (Blacker Karat)
wrote within a recent emailed statement. Ford has fittingly self-described his unique sound as
"Post-Dilla Hip-Hop Instrumental"
and lists
J Dilla
, Madlib,
KAN KICK
, No I.D.
Public Enemy
, Prefuse 73, S1, and
Boogie Down Productions
amongst his greatest sources of influence.
Okinato Black
, which I'm proud to be premiering here today at
The Witzard
, will be released on
Philly
rapper-producer
Darko The Super
's eclectic
U DONT DESERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL ART
imprint and will quickly become
BLKrKRT
's whopping 40th
Bandcamp
release; one of three final releases before
Phil Ford
plans to retire from music altogether and embark on a new venture into the world of fashion design. "I met
Phil
during the early
Soundcloud
days. He actually remixed a lot of my very early
Rap
projects; I used a lot of his beats throughout the years. He’s an incredible producer! I asked him if he’d like to do a release with the label recently and he sent over
Okinato Black
right away,"
Darko The Super
explained.
<a href="http://uddtba.bandcamp.com/album/okinato-black">Okinato Black by BLKrKRT</a>
"I live in
Texas
, where
Experimental Hip-Hop
has always existed, but hadn't always been well respected, going mostly overlooked in favor of artists from the more metropolitan cities and music with a more mainstream appeal... Looking forward to taking the heads of
Hip-Hop
listeners seeking to see it remain the same... limiting the growth of our new era,
[Okinato Black]
is a slight departure from my previous works. In attempting to shed a persona, I had unwittingly re-invented one," Ford's email tellingly continued.
BLKrKRT
says that as he dug further into
story, he found many (abstract) parallels between himself and the legendary
African Shogun
, which run through both his personal life and his discipline, musically.
Phil Ford
explained that
Okinato Black
differs from his previous
since "the focus of [his] work thus far, has been the nature of [his] "chop," or sample usage, now the hallmark of [his] sound" and further went on to compare his approach and sensibility to that of
Jackson Pollock
. It appears as though
Darko The Super
and
Phil Ford
's working relationship dates back as far as May-June 2014, as I recently unearthed two
BLKrKRT
-produced tracks amidst the
Stereopathetic Soulmanure
(Beck
reference) heap that is
Darko
's plethora of released music:
"President Camacho"
and
The Buggles
-referencing
(Darko Killed The Radio Star)."
BLKrKRT
's
Okinato Black
is currently available for your streaming and downloading pleasures on
U DONT DESERVE THIS BEAUTIFUL ART
's respective
Bandcamp
and
Soundcloud
pages.
<a href="http://uddtba.bandcamp.com/album/okinato-black">Okinato Black by BLKrKRT</a>