By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
CRAWLING KINGFISH
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Perry. As a student at the Delta Blues
Museum Art and Education program, the
young musician received a solid blues
foundation, which he expanded upon by
listening to songs and watching videos of
legends like Robert Johnson, Lightnin’
Hopkins, B.B.King and Jimi Hendrix. He
absorbed it all, including tips from his first
cousin, country great Charley Pride. By the
time he was 16- he had developed his own
masterful style, earning him the 2015
Rising Star Award from the Rhythm &
Blues Foundation.
Christone had created a lot of buzz in
blues circles but funk pioneer Bootsy
Collins helped him attract more fans by
posting his videos and soon hip hop star
I
f anyone that thinks that the blues isn’t
a living, contemporary art form needs
to listen to the new album, Kingfish
(Alligator) by Christone “Kingfish”
Ingram. The 12 track album bursts with
excitement and the 20-year-old blues
prodigy makes it clear that the genre is
alive and kicking and he’s claiming a lead-
ing position. Born in Clarksdale,
Mississippi, a few miles from the leg-
endary crossroads where Robert Johnson
reportedly sold his soul to the devil for his
musical gifts, the blues is Christone’s
birthright. He sang in his family’s church,
played drums and bass at 6 and 9-years-
old and by 11 was playing guitar behind
Mississippi blues icon Bill Howl-N-Madd
The Game did the same, making the teen
blues musician a Youtube sensation. He
appeared in season 2 of the popular Netflix
show Luke Cage and performed two tunes
for the show’s soundtrack. Christone gar-
nered all of these accomplishments before
he had even graduated high school or pro-
duced an album. By the time he did finish
high school, he had performed on the road
and polished his music to the point that he
sounds like an assured, middle-aged blues
master.
Indeed, Kingfish blasts with the cen-
turies of blues heritage that flows through
Christone, tempered with Generation Z
edge. The opener, “Outside of This Town,”
serves up blistering guitar licks and a tale
about breaking free of small town limits
and starting a new, high profile life. It’s
obviously biographical, and Christone
wrote another seven of the album’s 12
tracks. A highlight and indication of just
how high profile his life has become is the
irresistible duet with blues icon Buddy
Guy on “Fresh Out.” Conjuring up Delta
blues classics, Christone seethes with frus-
tration crooning, “no jelly in the jar/no
flour in the sack/I ain’t got nothing cookin’
baby/please won’t you come back/I’m
fresh out.” His guitar leaps with emotion
and Buddy adds the last verse, topping off
the tune with more energy and star power
than one song can contain. The acoustic
blues ballad, “Been Here Before” is anoth-
er standout, with the performer tracing his
experience as an old soul who’s “always
been different.” Billy Branch delivers snap-
py harp licks on the catchy blues shuffle “If
You Love me,” with Keb Mo on guitar and
Jontavious Miller on acoustic guitar for a
finely crafted hip shaker. “Love Ain’t My
Favorite Word” further demonstrates
Christone’s range, with a gut-punching,
soulful delivery and a gritty guitar solo
that cries along with him.
Kingfish isn’t just the debut album of a
young blues torchbearer, it’s the official
declaration that Christone ‘Kingfish”
Ingram has arrived and 21st-century blues
has garnered a true visionary.
It’s been four years since blues legend
B.B. King passed on but as one of the prin-
cipal musicians who helped establish the
post-war blues sound his legacy lives on.
The B.B King Blues Band, who played
behind the icon for over 35 years, has made
sure his legacy remains fresh with the
release of The Soul of the King (Ruf Records).
The 14-track CD unfolds the classics that
made B.B. a blues essential, with all-stars
Taj Mahal, Kenny Neal, Joe Louis Walker,
Mary Griffin and Diunna Greenleaf paying
respects to the king. With the musicians
that played side by side with B.B. supply-
ing the backdrop, this collection reflects the
spirit and history of his catalog with rever-
ence and flair.
All of the tunes, including favorites like
“Irene, Irene” and “Thrill Is Gone” offer
immaculate musicianship and a fresh spin
with individual vocal flourishes. Standouts
include a hot take of “Paying The Cost to
be the Boss” with Mary Griffin and Taj
Mahal trading vocals with volcanic pas-
sion, Kenny Neal’s soulful “Sweet Little
Angel” and a swinging original, “Regal
Blues (A Tribute to the King) by Joe Louis
Walker. Detailing B.B.s influence, he belts,
“It’s my own fault/ but I guess I’ll blame it
on you/ if I hadn’t heard you play/I
wouldn’t be trying to play these blues.”
The Soul of The King is a royal offering
that pays homage to a significant blues
legacy.
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