Gary Clark Jr. Revisits ‘Blak and Blu’ on Big K.R.I.T-Assisted Mixtape
Gary Clark Jr. is offering a new spin on his 2012 album Blak and Blu, revisiting the tracks on a mixtape with help from Big K.R.I.T., Talib Kweli and others.
Gary Clark Jr.: The Chosen One
The blues-rock guitar hero offered the first glimpse of Blak and Blu: The Mixtape a few months ago when he released Big K.R.I.T’.’s remix of the title track. The full mixtape, presented by DJ and producer D-Nice, also features an additional Big K.R.I.T. remix of “When My Train Pulls Up,” a remix of “The Life” by jazz pianist and producer Robert Glasper, a reworking of “Bright Lights” featuring Talib Kweli, a version of “Numb” with Bilal and “Please Come Home” with vocals by singer-songwriter Alice Smith. There’s also a new track called “Soul.”
With Blak and Blu: The Mixtape, Clark is upping the ante on the diverse array of sounds and influences that were already present on Blak and Blu.”If it were up to everybody else, I would do Hendrix covers all the time,” Clark told Rolling Stone last year as he defended the directions he took on the album. “I saw this comment from somebody online the other day, saying, ‘We need you to play more Chicago or Louisiana blues – we want the raw shit.’ Well, I’m not from Chicago or from Louisiana. I’m not from that time period. . . . So why am I going to pretend? I’m not some poor kid who grew up in the middle of nothing.”
You can download or stream the mixtape here.