Petite Noir’s new album MotherFather will drop on April 14, 2023 via Roya. Ahead of the record’s arrival, the artist has shared “Blurry” featuring good friend and Zambian artist Sampa the Great, who adds a verse to the tune, and a striking minimalist music video directed by Hector Aponysus. “Blurry” follows previously released singles “Numbers” and “Simple Things.”

Petite Noir says of the single: “‘Blurry’ is a song about growth in love. Being ready to take that next step whether it means being together or apart. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just move forward with your life solo. Choosing you above all.” Sampa The Great adds: “I felt so honoured to be able to work with Petite Noir. I’ve looked up to him and his music for a while and I’m truly inspired by his courage in paving the way for alternative musicians in Africa who feel like they don’t fit into one genre or one style.”

Petite Noir – the Congolese artist was born in Belgium, raised in South Africa, and is now based between London and Paris. Since his radical 2018 “visual album” La Maison Noir/The Black House, going on to collaborate with Danny Brown, tour with Young Fathers and capture the attention of Solange, who have all championed his music.

MotherFather has a subtitle: ‘The darkness is comforting sometimes’. As Ilungna explains: “It’s about going through the darkness. But it’s also about rebirth. Because the dark times are needed for us to grow.” The record defines a time of enormous personal upheaval in Petite Noir’s life, retracing old scars of the racism he experienced growing up in Johannesburg and examining his own relationship to the Black experience. Across its ten tracks, he navigates the dualities of joy and pain; sweetness and abrasion, and how life is richer for having both.

It’s only right that in wrestling with these existential and spiritual questions that the sound of MotherFather is on a biblical scale, equal parts heaven and hellfire. The record has guest features from Sampa The Great, the Grammy-nominated, Floridian jazz musician Theo Croker, and production from Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio), CID RIM, Moshik Kop, Tropics, and Futura.

Petite Noir
MotherFather
Tracklist
Roya

01. 777
02. Blurry (feat. Sampa The Great)
03. Numbers
04. Concrete Jungle
05. Skit
06. Finding Paradise
07. Simple Things (feat. Theo Croker)
08. Best One
09. Love Is War
10. Play

Pre-order MotherFather by Petite Noir HERE