DISTINCTIVE JUJU

Blacker Face is a Chicago quintet fronted by gospel singer turned firebrand punk vocalist, Jolene Whatevr. After years of collaboration Whatevr called on a core of longtime friends to reify a truly idiosyncratic and politically forward-thinking musical vision. Blacker Face earned a local reputation for their first-class musicality and high-energy performances in Chicago's DIY punk scene. Their fusion of provocative race-centric lyricism and transgressive musical arrangement has been labeled Afropunk, Afrofuturist, and Experimental. Their 2018 EP Think Piece was recognized as "Best Punk Music, May 2018" on Bandcamp. Their follow up LP Distinctive Juju (Sooper Records, 2019) is their most definitive work to date, exploring topics like police brutality, racial power dynamics, and impending climate catastrophe in a genre bending tour de force. Blacker Face was awarded a grant from the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) to assist in the creation of Distinctive Juju. The grant was used in part to produce a video for the track "My Life Matters," a song that makes explicit reference to the Chicago Police Department's murder of Laquan McDonald, and their subsequent attempts to cover up the murder.