专辑简介

Heroes Are Gang Leaders was founded by poet, photographer and professor Thomas Sayers Ellis with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. HAGL is a band of poets and jazz musicians dedicated to the sound extensions of literary text and original composition. Between 2014 and 2016 HAGL recorded The Amiri Baraka Sessions (an unreleased two CD project) and released The Avant-Age Garde I AMs of the Gal Luxury and Highest Engines Near / Near Higher Engineers. Flukum is HAGL's newest experience, an original project of song interruption and song eruption dedicated to poets Etheridge Knight and Ntozake Shange with moments of James Baldwin and Michael S. Harper thematically-seasoned in. The classic HAGL line-up is present (James Brandon Lewis, Margaret Morris, Luke Stewart, Janice Lowe, Randall Horton, Heru Shabaka-ra, Warren "Trae" Crudup, No Land, Devin Brahja Waldman and Thomas Sayers Ellis) on this recording with help from the Lyric Emcee Circular Motion of Da Frontline, poet Joey De Jesus and Sassy Nation newcomer Common Sensor, poet Crystal Good. This HAGL adventure is tough and tender, resisting the easy path of making another project that sounds like a HAGL project, HAGL turns its back on itself, destroying––this time out––all of its own expectations..."for the readers who don't dance and the dancers who don't read. " Having been described as Archie Shepp meets Funkadelic, only HAGL can repair the crossroads where the page and the stage no longer properly meet because they are both victims of the same canon. One listen to their recent single release "Hurt Cult," a trapped-out, hypnotic response-anthem, and you too will unite with HAGL in their quest to update all of the Freedom Reform Forms of Genre! Bring your bios and your bodies and deny the kin kiss if you want to, because HAGL is back!