Negro Swan — Blood Orange

Music and politics have been intertwined affairs since its inception. From the Tropicalia genre conceived from the Brazilian civil war of the 1960s to Pussy Riot, a product of modern Russian authoritarianism, music is representative of the sentiment and general condition of the people. Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine posits succinctly,
“100 percent of music is political. Music either supports the status quo or challenges the status quo. So every artist is political.”
Now there are many different permutations to this as music can be unintentionally political like the Beatles representing change to Eastern Europe during the Cold War or outright such as N.W.A’s “Fuck the Police” and concurrently gangster rap of the 90’s. In the wake of a post-Trump presidency, Black Lives Matter, and the soiree of current political events, Negro Swan is a meticulously crafted creation that’s a reflective response of our state of affairs.
Throughout his musical journey as Blood Orange, Devonte Hynes has never been one to shy away from politically charged music. He draws on his past traumas and anxieties to cultivate powerful soundscapes that are prevalent in the majority of Blood Orange’s discography. In retrospect, Hynes has become more purposeful in his craft as seen through his 2015 single Sandra’s Smile, a response to Sandra Bland’s untimely death under police custody, and the Black History EP from earlier this year. His initial endeavors as Test Icicles, a short-lived teen dance punk group, and Lightspeed Champion, his country-tinged indie rock project, were clearly more light-hearted forays in his musical self-discovery. Nonetheless, the release of Negro Swan solidifies Blood Orange as his most impactful and enduring legacy to date.
As a producer, Hynes’ trademark aesthetic is his reverence to ethereal 1980’s synthesizers, groovy R&B bass lines, and spindly guitar melodies found not only in his previous album, Freetown Sound, but also in his collaborative work with other artists from Carly Rae Jepsen’s “All That” to the musical score of James Franco’s 2014 film Palo Alto. He continues to stray from more pop sensible production, opting instead for deliberate sampling and voiceovers, particularly by the iconic trans woman and activist, Janet Mock. Hynes’ is notoriously known for his loosely bound scrapbook production style which differentiates him from other alternative R&B artist/producers such as Theophilus London. Albeit, his work undoubtedly makes sense to him, it unfortunately lacks a clear direction for the listener to follow. However, excerpts from Mock’s narratives interspersed throughout provides a metaphorical spine for the album, which is an improvement from Freetown Sound’s more erratic construction.
It would be too easy for me to say that Negro Swan is a solemn album, as it makes obvious references to negative encounters from Hynes’ past and present, feelings of isolation and the basic human need for love and lack thereof, and so on and so forth. So instead, I’ll be highlighting the more inconspicuous positive motifs of hope and resilience in community found within the overall ominous ambience. Hynes perseveres in this theme of community and otherness through tracks like Dagenham Dream and Orlando, both recalling being violently bullied in his English hometown,(After school, sucker punched down / Down and out / First kiss was the floor) but it is also palpable in the fact that he collaborates with a plethora of different musicians all across the spectrum. Artists such as A$AP Rocky and Tei Shi, complement Hynes’ falsetto almost effortlessly, as he provides such a stellar unifying base to forge communal music for the people by the people.
The pinnacle of the album is the track “Family”, which is a forty second excerpt of Janet Mock defining the word itself on her terms, “You show up, as you are, without judgment, without ridicule / Without fear or violence, or policing, or containment”. Amidst the New York street soundscapes Hynes paints, this is the essence of Negro Swan; the oyster’s pearl; the crown jewels. Mock is able to encapsulate the feeling of belonging beyond blood, love without expectations, an emotional and spiritual refuge most often found with people who you choose and choose you back. In a time of immense division and polarization, Hynes wants us to know that individuality and authenticity are not what isolates us but rather what brings us together. Negro Swan is a vehicle to understand and externalize his immigrant queer black experience in contemporary American society and to relate to those who have ever felt unaccepted, “othered”, or just not enough. Although as Blood Orange croons, “No one want to be a Negro Swan”, there is an inherent blessing in recognizing your identity and place in the world.
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