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GRAMMY® AWARD-WINNING ARTIST

FANTASTIC NEGRITO'S NEW ALBUM

PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD OUT TODAY

NEW RELEASE FOLLOWS 2016'S MILESTONE THE LAST DAYS OF OAKLAND - BOTH SELF-PRODUCED AT NEGRITO'S OAKLAND STUDIO BLACKBALL UNIVERSE.

WATCH "THE DUFFLER" MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERE

NATIONAL TOUR BEGINS TODAY IN SAN FRANCISCO

"Negrito puts himself in the middle of the fray with Please Don't Be Dead ...and offers his songs for the soundtrack of the lives of those who won't give up and are willing to carry on."

- Associated Press

Last year, he won a Grammy for the Best Contemporary Blues Album for 2016's Last Days of Oakland. The new album (Please Don't Be Dead), with its intense fervor, should make that two years in a row.

- Bob Boilen, NPR

It is only mid-June, but I'm calling it: This is my Album Of The Year.

- Tom O'Connor, Rock and Blues Muse

"Echoes of Zeppelin, The Black Keys, and Jack White are as prevalent as those of Leadbelly or Son House. And, like the jazz artists mentioned, urban aspects of hip-hop, rap, and spoken word filter through as does R&B"

- Glide Magazine

GRAMMY® Award-wining artist Fantastic Negrito releases his new album PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD today via Cooking Vinyl and Blackball Universe. Along with the release, Negrito unveils the Freddy Macdonald directed music video "The Duffler" from the album's latest single. PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD is available today at all DSPs.

WATCH "THE DUFFLER" HERE

There is desperation and urgency in Fantastic Negrito's new album PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD. For anyone who ever felt like it was over yet hoped it wasn't, this is your music.

"I wrote this album because I fear for the life of my black son," said Negrito. "I fear for the lives of my daughters. I am uncertain about what kind of future they will face. Will someone shoot up their school? Will they become addicted to prescription pills? Will they wind up on the street, sleeping under freeways and overpasses? Will the police murder my son? I came up with the name Please Don't Be Dead because I felt like we'd lost of our way as a society - and I know what happens when you chase the wrong things. It's the story of my life."

Fantastic Negrito has spent much of the past two years on the road, including sold out headline shows, stage-stealing festival performances, and a series of North American and European tours supporting his great supporter and friend, the late Chris Cornell as well as Cornell's legendary supergroup Temple of the Dog. He also opened for Sturgill Simpson and many others. A wide range of international live dates are available on his website, including major market headline shows and such festivals as Pasadena, CA's Arroyo Seco Weekend, Newport Folk Festival and AFROPUNK FEST, as well as the album release event at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco. For updates and more, please visit fantasticnegrito.com/tour.

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PLEASE DON'T BE DEAD Tracklisting:

1. Please Don't Be Dead

2. Bad Guy Necessity

3. A Letter To Fear

4. A Boy Named Andrew

5. Transgender Biscuits

6. The Suit That Won't Come Off

7. A Cold November Street

8. The Duffler

9. Dark Windows

10. Never Give Up