Blood Orange Shares First Negro Swan Track “Charcoal Baby” And Video: Watch

Dev Hynes, a.k.a. Blood Orange, has released the first single from his forthcoming album Negro Swan. Entitled “Charcoal Baby,” it’s accompanied by a split-screen music video, directed by Crack Stevens. You can watch it below.

The single was co-written by Hynes’ labelmate, Aaron Maine of Porches. It’s a guitar-based R&B track that opens with a killer saxophone solo. Hynes’ vocals are dreamy over a funky synth chorus. Negro Swan draws its name from the “Charcoal Baby” lyric “No one wants to be the negro swan.” The video features Blood Orange performing at two different familial gatherings.

“My newest album is an exploration into my own and many types of black depression, an honest look at the corners of black existence, and the ongoing anxieties of queer/people of color,” Hynes said of the record. Negro Swan is due out on Aug. 24 via Domino.

Recently, Hynes appeared on A$AP Rocky’s TESTING and, back in February, he also released two songs honouring Black History Month, as well as a collaboration with Girlpool. You can watch the video for “Charcoal Baby” and listen to a 2012 performance of “Bad Girls” from the Paste archives below.