Fantastic Negrito

Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, known by his stage name Fantastic Negrito, is an American singer-songwriter specializing in blues, R&B, and roots music. He has been nominated for "Best Contemporary Blues Album" at the Grammys twice. Once for his 2016 album The Last Days of Oakland and another time for his 2018 album Please Don't Be Dead.

When you listen to Fantastic Negrito, you’re invited to hear the story about life after destruction. Each song is a real story about a musician from Oakland who experienced the highs of a million-dollar record deal, the lows of a near fatal car accident that left him in a coma, and is now in the midst of a rebirth that took him from the streets of Oakland to the world stage.    The narrative of this man is as important as the sound, because the narrative is the sound. Songs born from a long hard life channeled through black roots music. Slide guitar, drums, piano. Urgent, desperate, edgy.    Negrito burst onto the national radar by winning the inaugural NPR Tiny Desk contest in 2015, and has since won Grammy’s for all three of his albums: The Last Days of Oakland (2017), Please Don’t Be Dead (2019), and Have You Lost Your Mind yet? (2021), which includes features from fellow Tiny Desk winner Tank (Tank and The Bangas) and Bay Area Legend E-40. His newest single, “Root City”, is an anthem for the Oakland Roots Sports Club.