Permanently Blackface (The 1st Expression)
Lukah
2023
Permanently Blackface (The 1st Expression) by Lukah is a powerful exploration of systemic racism and personal trauma from South Memphis. Introducing himself as Mr. Blackface, Lukah identifies the true artist’s responsibility to hold a mirror to the listener in order to confront and disarm taboos.
The only voices present are Lukah, joined by his mother providing scat vocals, and his grandfather discussing the Jungian self-hatred of the colonial project and its terrifying repercussions for contemporary Black Americans, with a fitting invocation of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster.
The album introduces an unnamed character beset by disposition. As the story’s scope increases, the gaze of the mirror shifts. How would white society feel if historical roles were reversed? How does a presumed white listener experience the trauma of interacting with police?
Stand-Out Tracks
Child In Iron Collar
Spook’s Blues
A Colored Night
Grease Paint Tap Dancer
