Fantastic Negrito - An Honest Man 2014 - 2026

No idea when Fantastic Negrito first appeared on my musical radar, but probably some time during the last 10 years. 

In fact, a few times I really got into him and then got sidetracked for whatever reason. 

In 2024 I even began with a first attempt of this post, but… 

Better late than never, I guess!
What triggered it this time, you might ask? Well, my son got a subscription to Amazon's Prime Video, and I just started watching Hand of God, from 2015 (I know, I’m not exactly up to date, to put it mildly), which received very mixed reviews upon its release. 

I wasn’t sure either whether I should continue watching after the first episode but am glad I did; it’s weirdly compelling. 

But I digress, what’s this got to do with this post’s subject? 

The series (first season at least) opens with Negrito’s An Honest Man, which is a great track well suited for Hand of God's storyline.
Fantastic Negrito's music is best described as a kind of blues, hip-hop, rock, folk, and funk hybrid, which, together with his thoughtful lyrics, makes for a fascinating listening experience.
While preparing this post, I found out more about his life; to say that his youth was colourful is an understatement; it certainly provides plenty of material for his lyrics! 

Also a surprise was that he recorded an album in 1995 for Interscope Records under the name of Xavier: X Factor, which sounds rather like Prince-lite and didn't do much to me...

A car accident literally crashed that early start, and, in hindsight, it was probably for the best, as he wasn't particularly happy with that album anyway. 

During his recovery, he slowly began to reinvent himself as Fantastic Negrito...
Since then, he has released 7 studio (and 1 live) albums, several EPs and singles, and made a few guest appearances.
This is the first compilation of his work; hope you like it.