Fantastic Negrito has shared a new song called “I’m So Happy I Cry”, featuring Tarriona “Tank” Ball of Tank and the Bangas. The song is set to appear on Negrito’s forthcoming album, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND YET? due out on August 14th.
The song features the first-ever collaboration between two winners of NPR‘s “Tiny Desk Contest”, according to Negrito. In a press release, Fantastic Negrito praised Tiny Desk creator Bob Boilen for the importance of his musical initiative to highlight otherwise-overlooked voices.
The song immediately takes off with a call-and-response structure where Negrito counts off with “Ooh, I’m so happy” and is met with a resounding “Ooh I’m so happy I cry.” In his verse, Fantastic Negrito recounts his past failed endeavors of looking for happiness in all the wrong places. The whole song, even it’s paradoxical title of “I’m So Happy I Cry”, stings with the tinge of the kind of happiness that can only be found through suffering and hard-fought personal fulfillment. Tank then comes in with her own journey of finding inner salvation, culminating with the clever line, “now I’m hot like a crock pot steaming up the ghetto.” Negrito said of the song,
I was really inspired to write ‘I’m So Happy I Cry’ the day after reading of Juice WRLD’s death. There are so many young artists suffering from what I perceive as mental illness. Imagine having everything you want in the world and still feeling the need to medicate until it kills you. There is something very sick — and tragic — about that.
Tank said of working with Negrito,
Fantastic Negrito always told me that we would make history together. I believed him. Fantastic Negrito from a distance is plain ole weird. But when I met him, I found that he was brilliant in his own way. He believes in unity, self determination, music, community, family and he makes you feel comfortable to be yourself and create timeless music.
Watch Fantastic Negrito’s music video for “I’m So Happy I Cry”, featuring Tank.
Fantastic Negrito ft. Torriona “Tank” Ball — “I’m So Happy I Cry” (Official Video)
[Video: Fantastic Negrito]
This Sunday, June 28th, Tank and the Bangas will perform at Justice Comes Alive: A Virtual Festival For Equality.
For more information or to secure your streaming link, head to www.JusticeComesAlive.com. For updates, follow Justice Comes Alive on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and RSVP to the Facebook Event page.
Justice Comes Alive will feature performances by 50+ artists including Antibalas, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, BANDEMIC (John Scofield, John Medeski, Billy Martin, & Jesse Murphy), Phil Lesh and the Terrapin Family Band, Stanley Jordan, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Christone “KINGFISH” Ingram, Dumpstaphunk, Galactic, Lettuce, Nahko, The Soul Rebels, Tank and the Bangas, TAUK, Turkuaz, and Umphrey’s McGee as well as conversations with musicians like Oteil Burbridge, Christian McBride, Karl Denson, Ivan Neville, and more about how we can heed the call of the moment to address and eliminate racial inequality on both a personal and a societal level.
