Black Focus is the only studio album by English duo Yussef Kamaal, composed of drummer Yussef Dayes and keyboardist Kamaal Williams. It was released on 4 November 2016 under Brownswood Recordings. Characterised by its “spontaneity and flow”, the album draws influence from electronic music of British origin.

Tracklist:

Black Focus (4:29)
Strings Of Light (8:31)
Remembrance (8:56)
Yo Chavez (3:59)
Ayla (0:45)
OG (0:47)
Lowrider (4:26)
Mansur’s Message (2:08)
Wing Tai Drums (1:18)
Joint 17 (8:10)

The borders between London’s musical tribes have always been porous. For Yussef Kamaal, the sound of the capital – with its hum of jungle, grime and broken beat – has shaped a self-taught, UK-tipped approach to playing jazz. In the states, the genre’s long-running to-and-fro with hip hop – from Robert Glasper to Kamasi Washington – has reimagined it within US culture. On Black Focus, Yussef Kamaal frame jazz inside the bass-saturated, pirate radio broadcasts of London.

TRACKLIST

A1 Black Focus
A2 Strings Of Light
A3 Remembrance
B1 Yo Chavez
B2 Ayla
B3 O.G.
B4 Lowrider
B5 Mansur’s Message
B6 Wingtai Drums
B7 Joint 17