The American Negro

Adrian Younge is an American record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from Los Angeles.^[4] The American Negro is a part of a multimedia project released to coincide with Black History Month.^[5] A four-episode podcast, Invisible Blackness with Adrian Younge, features guest appearances from Chuck D, Ladybug Mecca, Keyon Harrold, and Michael Jai White.^[5] A short film, T.A.N., is written, edited, directed, and scored by Younge.^[5]

The American Negro dissects "the evolution of racism in America and systemic challenges faced by people of color."^[6] In a 2021 interview, Younge said, "It's as if James Baldwin hooked up with Marvin Gaye to make a record produced by David Axelrod."^[7] The album's cover art depicts Younge hanging from a tree, designed to look like a lynching postcard.^[6] "James Mincey Jr." is a tribute song to the man of the same name, who was killed by police chokehold in 1982.^[8] He was the uncle of Loren Oden, who provides vocals on the song.^[8] All the instruments on the album, with the exception of the orchestra, are played by Younge.^[9]

The album was released on February 26, 2021, through Jazz Is Dead.^[6]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	64/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Flood Magazine	9/10[10]
The Observer	[11]
Pitchfork	4.0/10[12]
Record Collector	[13]
The Sydney Morning Herald	[14]
Uncut	6/10[15]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, The American Negro received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 64 out of 100 from 4 critic scores.^[3]

Ammar Kalia of The Observer described the album as "a 26-track part-spoken word, part-orchestral examination of the structural racism underpinning the identity of modern America."^[11] He added, "it is Younge's impassioned spoken-word interludes – dissecting everything from the Frantz Fanon-referencing double consciousness of racial awareness to the creation of racism to solidify class structures – that give this record its unique tone and profundity."^[11] Charles Waring of Record Collector stated, "A mixture of spoken narrative and music, Younge channels the spirits of Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, creating immersive jazz-infused soul and funk grooves."^[13] Andy Kellman of AllMusic commented that Younge "addresses the audience with warmth and love throughout the album, spreading knowledge and impelling action without being excessively didactic."^[8]

Meanwhile, Stephen Kearse of Pitchfork wrote, "Younge is clearly writing from a place of real indignation, but his hamfisted diatribes are so lifeless and incoherent the record collapses under the inertia."^[12] He called The American Negro "a concept album without an essence, agitprop that doesn't know what it's agitating for, citing everything and saying nothing."^[12]

It was nominated for Best Jazz Record at the 2022 Libera Awards.^[16]