Saxophonist, band leader and composer, Shabaka Hutchings has signed to impulse! records and his group, Sons of Kemet will release their third studio album on the label in April 2018 - marking a return of the iconic jazz label to the United States under the umbrella of the Verve Label Group.
Sons of Kemet comprises an the iconoclastic mix of tenor sax, tuba and double drums. On this third studio album, Your Queen is a Reptile they bring a genre defying approach which celebrates the restless exploration of identity within the Caribbean diaspora within the U.K. Your Queen is a Reptile was recorded in London with a host of guests spanning the breadth of the U.K. scene including jungle legend Congo Natty and poet Joshua Idehen.
Your Queen Is A Reptile is a manifesto of sorts, addressing the oppressive system of British monarchy, which celebrates a lifestyle that validates the injustice of class and race discrimination in Great Britain. Hutchings doesn't accept the stratification that is represented by the British Queen.
Instead, he presents an alternative to this idolatry - his own queens. "Our Queens led by action, by example, our Queens listened. Our Queens made bright futures out of cruel and unfair pasts."
Each track on this album celebrates a different Queen, a new Queen. "My Queen Is Ada Eastman," "My Queen Is Harriet Tubman," "My Queen Is Angela Davis," "My Queen Is Yaa Asantewaa."
Sonically, this album stretches from New Orleans down to the Caribbean to London to the Middle East. With the instrumentation of tuba, drums and sax, it has a second line quality that marches into the Caribbean diaspora. There is spoken word and rap, and elements of dub, further emphasizing jazz's place in today's hip-hop world.