Black to the Future (Sons of Kemet album)

Black to the Future
Studio album by Sons of Kemet
Released	14 May 2021 (2021-05-14)
Studio	Livingston Studio 1
Genre	Jazz
Length	51:07
Label	Impulse!
Producer	Shabaka Hutchings Dilip Harris
Sons of Kemet chronology
Your Queen Is a Reptile (2018) Black to the Future (2021)

Black to the Future is the fourth and final studio album by British jazz group Sons of Kemet. It was released via Impulse! Records on 14 May 2021 ^[1] to widespread critical acclaim from music critics. ^[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.6/10 [3]
Metacritic	84/100 [2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Clash	9/10 [5]
Exclaim!	8/10 [6]
The Independent	[7]
Loud and Quiet	8/10 [8]
Mojo	[9]
NME	[10]
The Observer	[11]
Pitchfork	7.4/10 [12]
The Skinny	[13]

The album received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 16 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". ^[2] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 8.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. ^[3]

Accolades

Black to the Future on year-end lists

Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Paste	The 50 Best Albums of 2021	26	[14]

Track listing

Black to the Future track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Field Negus" (featuring Joshua Idehen)	3:03
2.	"Pick Up Your Burning Cross" (featuring Moor Mother and Angel Bat Dawid)	3:44
3.	"Think of Home"	3:32
4.	"Hustle" (featuring Kojey Radical)	5:18
5.	"For the Culture" (featuring D Double E)	4:01
6.	"To Never Forget the Source"	2:55
7.	"In Remembrance of Those Fallen"	5:06
8.	"Let the Circle Be Unbroken"	6:29
9.	"Envision Yourself Levitating"	8:22
10.	"Throughout the Madness, Stay Strong"	5:53
11.	"Black" (featuring Joshua Idehen)	2:42
Total length:		51:07

Personnel

Credits adapted from Mojo review. ^[9]

Sons of Kemet

• Theon Cross  –tuba
• Shabaka Hutchings  –tenor saxophone, woodwinds
• Tom Skinner  –percussion
• Edward Wakili-Hick –percussion

Additional musicians

• Steve Williamson  –tenor saxophone
• Joshua Idehen –vocals
• Angel Bat Dawid  –vocals
• Moor Mother  –vocals
• D Double E  –vocals
• Kojey Radical  –vocals
• Lianne La Havas  –vocals

Charts

Chart performance for Black to the Future

Chart (2021)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [15]	26
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [16]	59
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [17]	32
Scottish Albums (OCC) [18]	18
Swedish Jazz Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [19]	3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [20]	59
UK Albums (OCC) [21]	54

References

1. Allnutt, Chris (28 April 2021). "Saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings: 'If I stop playing, I feel that physical yearning'". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
2. "Black to the Future by Sons of Kemet". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
3. "Black To The Future by Sons of Kemet reviews". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
4. Jurek, Thom. Review of Black to the Future at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
5. Watkins, Mike (12 May 2021). "Sons Of Kemet - Black To The Future". Clash. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
6. St. Michael, Jonathan (12 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet Contextualize the Past on 'Black to the Future'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
7. O'Connor, Roisin; Nugent, Annabel (13 May 2021). "Album reviews: The Black Keys – Delta Kream, and Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future". The Independent. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
8. Walton, Sam (10 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future - Album Review". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
9. Eccleston, Danny. "Wind power". Mojo (June 2021 ed.). p. 83.
10. Balram, Dhruva (13 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet – 'Black To The Future' review: rage, resentment and hope". NME. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
11. Empire, Kitty (15 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet: Black to the Future review – an eloquent dance between anger and joy". The Observer. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
12. Adjei-Kontoh, Hubert (21 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet: Black to the Future". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 May 2021.
13. Goggins, Joe (10 May 2021). "Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future album review". The Skinny. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
14. "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Paste . 29 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
15. "Ultratop.be – Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
16. "Ultratop.be – Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
18. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
19. "Veckolista Jazz, vecka 20" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved 21 May 2021.
20. "Swisscharts.com – Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
21. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 May 2021.