Best Contemporary Blues Album
Alive! - Fantastic Negrito
First Ever Tiny Desk Winner.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
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Released July 17, 2026
“We’re in the age of information and artificial intelligence, where a song can be written by a machine and a voice can be built out of nothing. I wanted the opposite, a record that’s alive, raw, and real with all its rough edges. I wrote these songs. I played them. Sang them. Live, on stages across the world.” - Fantastic Negrito
WHO IS FANTASTIC NEGRITO?
In the 90s he had a million dollar record deal. Then he almost died. He disappeared. He reinvented himself.
After a devastating car accident left him in a coma for three weeks and permanently damaged his playing hand, Xavier Dphrepaulezz walked away from the music industry and, years later, returned as Fantastic Negrito.
What followed was an extraordinary second life: winning the inaugural NPR Tiny Desk Contest and three GRAMMY Awards while building a fiercely independent body of work rooted in survival, truth and the human experience.
And now, after all of it, he finally releases the record that feels almost inevitable: Alive! - raw, unfiltered, imperfect and completely human.
In the age of AI, Fantastic Negrito is ALIVE!
THE STORY
ACCLAIM
'“Alive!' perfectly shows off exactly the creativity, talent, and spirit that made Fantastic Negrito a multi-Grammy winner. It’s my top record of 2026 to date, an absolute can’t miss album that will thrill any blues rocker … The Review: 10/10.”
- Blues Rock Review
“The songs on Alive! … combine deeply personal storytelling and protest songs about the cycles of violence and division shaping our lives today: police violence, war, greed, gun violence, and systemic inequality. “
- Louder Than War
The audio is clear, clean and in your face, making the appropriately titled ‘Alive!’ not only the best party album of the year, but a perfect introduction for those who have not yet been exposed to Negrito’s remarkable and diverse talents.
CREDITS
Producer: Xavier Dphrepaulezz
Songwriter/Composer: Xavier Dphrepaulezz
Recording Engineer(s): Ivan Garcia Ramirez, Andreas Pichardo
Additional Engineer: Zollie Fears
Mixing Engineer: Jai Vatuk
Mastering Engineer: Dave McNair
Musicians
Lead Vocals: Xavier Dphrepaulezz
BG Vocals: Bryan Simmons, Clark Sims, Lily Stern
Bass Guitar: Lily Stern
Lead Guitar: Clark Sims
Rhythm Guitar: Xavier Dphrepaulezz
Keys: Bryan Simmons
Additional Keys: Xavier Dphrepaulezz
Drums: James Small
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