A South Africa Event on 2016-03-22 20:30:00
with Bayonne, T.O.L.D.
Yannick Ilunga doesn't dice words when he outlines the message woven through his debut album: "STAY POSITIVE." Yannick is half-Congolese, half-Angolan and was raised in South Africa. The 24-year-old artist known as Petite Noir still lives part-time in Cape Town, close to his family and his spiritual roots and that culture is immediately evident as it bleeds through his music. La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful, named after an uplifting 1987 Congolese film, is both a beacon and a vessel of inspiration, offering empowerment to those who need it. "Though Petite Noir's musical background ranges from guitar metal to nu-disco, he has since developed into a confident, future-facing singer and songwriter with a wide palette. He discovered the work of Kanye West around the age of 16, and it quite literally changed his life, showing him the importance of breaking musical boundaries. You can hear that fearlessness: The King of Anxiety blended raw post-punk energy with sunny African rhythms and nuanced R&B touches in early 2015, and now La Vie Est Belle / Life Is Beautiful takes that sound to louder, more defiant places. But even as explosive pop songs like "Best" and "Just Breathe" delve into depths of frustration and discontent, they're underpinned with a restless joy. The combination is at once exhilarating and reassuring.Inspired by innovators like Mos Def and legends Fela Kuti and Tabu Ley, Noirwave encompasses a "new African aesthetic," plain and simple.
at Echoplex
1154 Glendale Boulevard
Los Angeles, United States
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