blackchai, August Fanon - OTHERWISE A BLUR

GrandMegaFlowers of Secret House Against -

Music can be described as a crystallization of the social forces in which it is created. In that sense hip-hop started as and continues to embody the realities of Black people in the west. A crystallization of our experiences, emotions, and fight for liberation. All arising under a brutal, unjust, and alienating system of production. A system that reifies colonialism, imperialism, and racism, as the way that the world simply “is.”
The impulse for freedom, justice, and liberation continue to be a through-line in Black art. “The Black Radical Tradition is a collection of cultural, intellectual, action-oriented labor aimed at disrupting social, political, economic, and cultural norms originating in anticolonial and antislavery efforts.” In music it’s creators are developing a radical lexicon of freedom and expression. The black radical tradition endures as an ever evolving challenge to the oppressive ideological super structure of the west. It explodes from those witnessing the world in peril. It continues to build community and connect champions for liberation.

With OTHERWISE A BLUR, blackchai and August Fanon are yet another powerful expression of this continuing tradition. Together they’ve created a diverse and engrossing experience. On this album you will hear countless styles, a range of sonic compositions, and messages that come from a lineage of those demanding liberation. Created freely and unabashed. Breaking the constraints of an unnatural order and giving us something to experience our own connection to the radical tradition.

artists: blackchai & August Fanon
written by: blackchai, 98PREEM, Noah, Yonnas & S!lence
produced by: August Fanon
mixed by: blackchai
Cuts & Scratches: DJ Marcus
Album Artwork: 98PREEM
Photography: E. Fortson
Liner Notes: GrandMegaFlowers