''Genuine Negro Jig'' is the third studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

of the

Carolina Chocolate Drops The Carolina Chocolate Drops were an Old-time music, old-time String band (American music), string band from Durham, North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina. Their 2010 album, ''Genuine Negro Jig (album), Genuine Negro Jig,'' won the Grammy Award ...

, an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

string band A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active count ...

. Its label debut was released on February 16, 2010, while its vinyl version, which included the album on 140-gram vinyl and CD, was released on July 13. This is the first album the band has recorded for

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...

. It was highly successful, reaching the top ten on the Billboard Folk chart and the top of the Bluegrass chart. ''Genuine Negro Jig'' on the Billboard Bluegrass chart/ref> It was also the last CCD recording to include collaborator and Sankofa Strings co-founder, Sule Greg Wilson. Like most of the Carolina Chocolate Drops' work, the album, a mixture of traditional folk songs, early 20th "Race" music, and recent pieces, is part of the Chocolate Drops' effort to celebrate the string band music of the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

region of

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, and the influence of African-Americans on this music. On

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, band member

Rhiannon Giddens Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician known for her eclectic folk music. She is a founding member of the country, blues, and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she was the lead singer, fiddle pl ...

pointed out that "it seems that two things get left out of the history books. One, that there was string band music in the Piedmont, period. (And that) black folk were such a huge part of string tradition." Although the music the Chocolate Drops play is quite eclectic, the band members claim that early 20th-century African American string bands also drew from a wide range of genres in their musical repertoire. In describing the music, Giddens discusses how she was inspired but not bound by the genres in which she works—"Tradition is a guide, not a jailer. We play in an older tradition but we are modern musicians." ''Genuine Negro Jig'' was well received by critics. ''

Blogcritics Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen (writer), Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn. Blogcritics features more than 100 original articles every week, and maintains an archive of a ...

'' writes that "our ears are all the better for it" and is "hoping that this record will not only put the Carolina Chocolate Drops on the map, but will also draw new listeners in to the genres of old country and blues." ''Engine 145'' describes ''Genuine Negro Jig'' as "an album of feistily complex, yet endearingly soulful songs that have ages of history behind them and a bright future as well." ''Paste'' magazine calls the Chocolate Drops "the genuine article" whose "enthusiasm for the tradition is obvious." ''The Guardian'' writes that the album is "well worth checking out." The album won a 2010

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in the best traditional folk album category, and was number 9 in ''

fRoots ''fRoots'' (pronounced "eff-Roots", originally ''Folk Roots'') was a specialist music magazine published in the UK between 1979 and 2019. It specialised in folk and world music, and featured regular compilation downloadable albums, with occas ...

'' magazine's top 10 albums of the year.

Track listing

#"Peace Behind the Bridge" (

Etta Baker Etta Baker (March 31, 1913 – September 23, 2006) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina. Early life and career She was born Etta Lucille Reid in Caldwell County, North Carolina, of African-American, Native A ...

) – 2:34 #"Trouble in Your Mind" (Traditional) – 2:55 #"Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine" ( Charlie Jackson,

Dom Flemons Dominique Flemons (born August 30, 1982) is an American old-time music, Piedmont blues, and neotraditional country multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. He is a proficient player of the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, percussion, quil ...

) – 3:00 #"

Hit 'Em Up Style "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" is a song by American R&B singer Blu Cantrell, written and produced by Dallas Austin and included on Cantrell's debut album, '' So Blu'' (2001). The song was released in the United States on April 23, 2001, as Cantrell ...

" (

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and film producer from Columbus, Georgia. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfir ...

) – 3:56 #"Cornbread and Butterbeans" (Traditional) – 3:10 #"Snowden's Jig" (Genuine Negro Jig) (Traditional) – 3:53 #"Why Don't You Do Right?" (

Kansas Joe McCoy Wilbur Joe "Kansas Joe" McCoy (May 11, 1905 – January 28, 1950) was an American Delta blues singer, musician and songwriter. Career McCoy performed under various stage names but is best known as Kansas Joe McCoy. Born in Raymond, Mississippi ...

) – 3:36 #"Cindy Gal" (Traditional) – 2:28 #"Kissin' and Cussin'" ( Justin Robinson) – 3:21 #"Sandy Boys" (Traditional) – 2:25 #"Reynadine" (Traditional) – 2:37 #"Trampled Rose" (

Kathleen Brennan Kathleen Patricia Brennan (born 1955) is an Irish-American musician, songwriter, record producer, and artist. She is known for her work as a co-writer, producer, and influence on the work of her husband Tom Waits. Biography Brennan was born in ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

) – 4:36 #Bonus Download: "Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine" (live) (Charlie Jackson, Dom Flemons) – 3:38 #Bonus Download: "Cornbread and Butterbeans" (live) (Traditional) – 3:57 #Bonus Download: "Georgia Buck" (live) (Traditional) – 3:03 #Bonus Download: "Hit 'Em Up Style" (live) (Dallas Austin) – 5:28 #Bonus Download: "Snowden's Jig" (Genuine Negro Jig) (live) (Traditional) – 4:07 #Bonus Download: "Memphis Shakedown" (live) (Traditional) – 3:40 #Bonus Download: "Trouble in Your Mind" (live) (Traditional) – 3:06

Personnel

The Carolina Chocolate Drops The Carolina Chocolate Drops were an old-time string band from Durham, North Carolina. Their 2010 album, '' Genuine Negro Jig,'' won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, and was number 9 in ''fRoot ...

- vocals ,

throat singing Throat singing refers to several vocal practices found in different cultures worldwide. These vocal practices are generally associated with a certain type of guttural voice that contrasts with the most common types of voices employed in singing, wh ...

;

bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

, four-string banjo ,

jug A jug is a type of container commonly used to hold and serve liquids, but not normally to drink from directly. It has an opening, sometimes narrow, from which to pour or drink, and has a handle, and usually a pouring lip. Jugs throughout histor ...

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

, "foot" percussion *

- vocals ; five-string banjo ,

kazoo The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a ''buzzing'' timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (itself a membranophone), one of a class of instruments that modify the player's v ...

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

* Justin Robinson - vocals ,

beatbox Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of t ...

* Súle Greg Wilson -

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

, frame drum set , computer hard drive "

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

" , "leg" percussion , percussion

References

External links

* {{Discogs release, type=album, 2401489 The Carolina Chocolate Drops albums Music of North Carolina Nonesuch Records albums Culture of Durham, North Carolina 2010 albums Albums produced by Joe Henry