It was September 2018 when Shabaka Hutchings took to the stage of the Hyundai Mercury Prize awards with his band Sons Of Kemet to perform the song ‘My Queen is Harriet Tubman’. This performance was brimming with energy and had the crowd in awe, leading to the only standing ovation of the evening. Coming off of the success of their 2018 album ‘Your Queen Is A Reptile’, leading UK jazz pioneer, saxophonist, clarinettist and composer Shabaka Hutchings has arrived with tuba player Theon Cross and two drummers Eddie Hick and Tom Skinner for the fourth studio album.

The album titled ‘Black To The Future’ sees the return of the Your Queen Is A Reptile band lineup, arriving in a moment of political turmoil. The social commentary runs deep in this project, with the intro featuring bleak words from renowned poet Joshua Idehen setting the tone for the rest of the LP. Other features on the album include Philadelphia poet Moor Mother, composer Angel Bat Dawid, London rapper Kojey Radical and veteran grime MC D Double E. This more feature heavy approach differs from their previous works, with the band fusing hip-hop and grime in with their afro-jazz sensibilities.

Black To The Future is available to purchase from retailers such as Rough Trade and their official store, with formats coming in black vinyl and CD. Record subscription service Vinyl Me Please is offering a limited-edition gold and black melt colour LP, pressed by VMP themselves resulting in exclusivity. The album sees its release through the American jazz record label Impulse! Records, a label that has seen jazz royalty pass through, including the likes of John Coltrane one of the labels earliest signings after its formation in 1960. You can stream the incredible fourth album by Sons Of Kemet below.