Black Bastards

Black Bastards
an early 20th century -styled racist caricature of a black person hanging from a gallows, with the title underneath in the style of hangman
Studio album by
KMD
ReleasedMay 15, 2000[1]
Recorded1991 – August 1993
StudioChung King Studios, New York, New York
Genre
Length44:07
Label
Producer
KMD chronology
Black Bastards Ruffs + Rares
(1998) 		Black Bastards
(2000) 		Best of KMD
(2003)
MF Doom chronology
Operation: Doomsday
(1999) 		Black Bastards
(2000) 		MF EP
(2000)
Singles from Black Bastards
  1. "What a Nigga Know?"
    Released: March 8, 1994[2]
  2. "It Sounded Like a Roc"
    Released: 1999[3]

Black Bastards (stylized as BL_CK B_ST_RDS) is the second and final studio album by American hip hop group KMD, recorded in 1993 and eventually released on May 15, 2000, through Readyrock Records.[4] Initially, the album was scheduled for release in May 1994, but Elektra Records canceled the album, reportedly due to the controversial cover art, which shows a Sambo figure being lynched.[5] Zev Love X's brother DJ Subroc was killed when he was struck by a car shortly before the album was completed, and subsequent releases of the album have featured dedications to him.

Elektra released promotional copies of Black Bastards and a single of "What a Nigga Know?" prior to the album's cancellation.[6] After KMD's disbandment, rarities and demo tracks recorded during the making of Black Bastards were released on a vinyl-only EP titled Black Bastards Ruffs + Rares in 1998. The album was re-released in 2001 by Sub Verse Music[7] and again in 2008 by MF Doom's own Metalface Records.[8]

  1. ^ "MF DOOM DISCOGRAPHY". Stones Throw. Archived from the original on December 15, 2006. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  2. ^ CMJ New Music Report (March 14, 1994), CMJ New Music Report Vol.37 No.12 Issue #371 (page 26) (PDF), retrieved July 6, 2022
  3. ^ It Sounded Like a Roc (liner notes). Subroc. New York, New York: Fondle 'Em Records. 1999. FE-87.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Quinlan, Thomas (May 1, 2000). "KMD Black Bastards". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  5. ^ allmusic ((( K.M.D. > Biography )))
  6. ^ CMJ New Music Report (March 14, 1994), CMJ New Music Report Vol.37 No.12 Issue #371 (page 26) (PDF), retrieved July 6, 2022
  7. ^ Black Bastards (liner notes). KMD. New York, New York: Sub Verse Music. 2001. SVM15.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pitchfork was invoked but never defined (see the help page).