“Negrito puts himself in the middle of the fray with ‘Please Don’t Be Dead’ – such a contemporary title – and offers his songs for the soundtrack of the lives of those who won’t give up and are willing to carry on.” – Washington Times

A major-label R&B musician in the 1990s, Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz re-emerged as Fantastic Negrito in 2015 playing what he calls ‘black roots music for everyone.’ Negrito won the inaugural NPR Tiny Desk contest and his debut full-length album The Last Days of Oakland was immediately met with critical acclaim. NPR called it ‘among the rawest pieces of music — sonically and emotionally — you’ll hear all year.’ The album went on to win the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2017. Negrito performed on the campaign trail with Bernie Sanders, was featured on Fox’s music industry drama Empire and his track, An Honest Man, can be heard as the theme song in Ron Perlman’s Amazon series Hand of God. His latest LP, Please Don’t Be Dead, was released on June 15.