I write this from a place of pure Black Joy. I write this from a place where Black Youth destroy all stereotypes. I write this from a place of knowing that Hardcore, Punk, Hip Hop, Reggae, Jungle, House, Blues, and Jazz were created through the lens of Blackness. I write from a place knowing that as Black People we have nothing to prove and it’s our time to celebrate and liberate. I write from a place of knowing that ZULU’s new album A New Tomorrow — which comes out today via Flatspot Records — is one of the most important Hardcore Punk records ever created!
Over the course of 15 tracks, this band shows and proves on all levels! A New Tomorrow is brutal and at times it’s an all-out Rage affair, but it also packs huge amounts of SOUL. I love all of the songs on the record, but the glue that sonically holds everything together is the well-thought-out and passionate interludes. On no other record this year will you hear a band with a Curtis Mayfield or Dennis Brown interlude. Songs like “Shine Eternally” takes me to a place where I see my people thriving and loving themselves. ZULU is unapologetically expressing Blackness and celebrating their Past, Present, and Future on every track. I can’t front, “We’re More Than This” takes me back to the Good Life Cafe watching Freestyle Fellowship dropping gems. I want Dez to know that I really felt all of your lyrics and I love the visuals as well! On “For Sista Humphrey,” the band shows us how they can bring the ruckus, but it’s the outro of the song that has me saying, damn, ZULU can’t be fucked with!
Being a native of LA, there is beauty in our hoods that usually is never captured on record. A New Tomorrow makes me feel like I’m walking through The African Market Place circa 1995, or going to your Uncle Jamm’s Army in the 80s, or being with all of my POC homies from Venice watching Suicidal Tendencies represent our hood. This record is a full circle journey, from the first song “Africa” to “Who Jah Bless No One Curse” — the Nyabinghi ending pure sonic perfection. The power of this album is how it’s going to inspire Black youth all over the world to be who they are, not who a stereotype rooted in white supremacy tells them they have to be! I want to let every member know that I have waited over 40 years to hear a record like this, and for that, I say thank you!!! I also want to salute everyone who contributed to A New Tomorrow this album represents the community and our culture. To all of our ancestors, thank you, and I say this from a place of Black Happiness: ZULU RULES!!!
