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Black and White America (2011)

Where the lyrics of Black and White America take you, and where it was really made.

Kravitz first said the album felt like Negrophilia, but it grew out of a documentary about opposition to Obama's election.

Key places

Recording entry: Eleuthera Island, Bahamas (2011)

Recording site Eleuthera Island — The Wikipedia record lists Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas as a recording place for 2009 to 2011. The exact studio building is not named in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording studios: Gregory Town Sound and Studio Noir (2011)

Recording site Gregory Town Sound — Discogs notes list Gregory Town Sound alongside Studio Noir as the recording studios. The point uses the Gregory Town city-centre coordinates, not a studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Black and White America: ninth studio album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz
• Released August 30, 2011 (per the English-language Wikipedia page)
• The album also produced six singles released in 2011 and 2012
• First album on Roadrunner Records/Atlantic Records under the joint label Loud & Proud

Background

• Announced on December 13, 2010 under this title
• Kravitz first said on his official website that it felt like Negrophilia, then felt like something else
• While in the Bahamas he channel-surfed one night and found a documentary about people who opposed President Obama's election
• He said that hearing racism voiced so hatefully made him feel he had to write a rebuttal
• Later he said the Negrophilia rumours were wrong information on the Internet and that the album has nothing to do with Negrophilia
• "Come On Get It", used in an NBA commercial in late 2010, was announced as the first single
• "Stand" was the second single and "Push" the third

Recording

• Discogs notes list the album as recorded at Gregory Town Sound and Studio Noir
• Tom Edmonds is credited as mixer; Craig Ross is credited for engineering, programming and editing in Pro Tools
• The Wikipedia record gives Eleuthera Island, Bahamas as the recording place for 2009 to 2011

Cover

• The cover photo credit goes to Sy Kravitz
• Mathieu Bitton is credited for art direction, design and photography
• The design and cover were unveiled on The Oprah Winfrey Show on 1 March 2011 (per the French Wikipedia page)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born May 26, 1964 in New York City; American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor.
• Debut album Let Love Rule (1989) blends rock, funk, reggae, hard rock, soul, and R&B.
• Hit singles include "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" (1991) and "Again" (2000), both top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Won four consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance from 1999 to 2002, a category record.
• Has sold over 40 million albums worldwide.
• Acted in Precious (2009) and the first two Hunger Games films (2012–13).
• Founded the creative studio Kravitz Design Inc.

Early life

• Raised partly in New York and partly in Los Angeles; began playing drums at age three.
• Introduced to rock music in Los Angeles, listening to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: average score of 68 from eight reviews, which indicates generally favorable reviews
• AnyDecentMusic?: 6.2 out of 10 from 10 reviews
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine): praised it as Kravitz's best record in years
• American Songwriter: called it a laudable musical statement and a reminder of how well Kravitz blends rock and funk
• Entertainment Weekly (Mikael Wood): gave it a B, describing a melting pot of funk, soul and rock
• Rolling Stone (Anthony Decurtis): said Kravitz is most gripping at his most personal but does not sustain that intensity
• HitFix (Melinda Newman): called it his most experimental album in years
• Paste Magazine (Ryan Reed): said it was rumored to be his long-awaited funk album and that the title track ranks high on his funk chart
• Consequence of Sound (Chris Coplan): noted the balance of his rock output with more diverse sounds and cameos by Drake and Jay-Z

Records

• Charted in the top ten in several European countries, with No. 1 debuts in Germany and Switzerland
• Debuted at No. 20 on Oricon in Japan, selling 6,000 copies
• Debuted at No. 17 in the US, selling 20,145 copies
• Has sold 61,000 copies in the US since release

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title track is dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr., and the song cites him from the very start.
• Tom Edmonds is credited as mixer, and Craig Ross handled Pro Tools programming and editing.
• Boongie Drop features Jay-Z and DJ Military, and Sunflower features Drake.
• Kravitz performed Stand on the Late Show with David Letterman.
• Rock Star City Life was performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on September 1, 2011.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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