Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig (2010)

Carolina Chocolate Drops

The Carolina Chocolate Drops released a new album, Genuine Negro Jig (2010), a while back and I finally got my hands on it.  I stumbled across this band on NPR and have been grooving on them a lot recently.  They mix in bluegrass and turn of the century black string bands with some modern elements.  This most recent album even brings in a beat boxer who does a stand out job on the new single "Hit 'Em Up Style" (originally by Blu Cantrell I believe) in the video at the bottom.

First off, a hint of background on this crazy, fun band.  They are an African-American band that self stylized their music as 'black string band,' a type of music most of us albino northerners are probably not familiar with.  It is close to bluegrass and hillbilly music from the 1920s and 30s, but has a bit more emphasis on soulful lyrics and the gourd banjo.  This band ties in elements of the one string banjo, fiddle music, jug, and even as mentioned above, beat boxing.  The band's website says they met on a Yahoo user group and formed after meeting a little known black fiddler Joe Thompson.  They started by creating a tribute to Thompson and trying to keep his music alive, but the mix of modern and old is as present in their music as in their creation.  Now they have released a number of albums and are adding members to the band.

I highly recommend this band and album to fans of bluegrass and old-time fiddle music.

Hit Em Up Style