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Sights + Sounds

Fantastic Negrito marks decade-long career with 'Alive' album

By Jeneé Darden

Published September 24, 2026 at 10:21 AM PDT

We're continuing our discussion about Fantastic Negrito's milestone year. It’s been a decade since he released is album “The Last Days Oakland,” which earned him his first Grammy. Also, 11 years ago he became the first artist to ever win NPR’s Tiny Desk concert. Fantastic Negrito’s new album is “Alive.” The songs are live recordings of performances he has done on stages in Europe and the U.S. There’s a song about computers and AI that Host Jeneé Darden loves. She caught up with Fantastic Negrito again at his Storefront Records Studio in Oakland.

Fantastic Negrito will be performing with the San Francisco Symphony this Saturday, September 26 at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.

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Sights + Sounds Arts & Entertainment

Jeneé Darden

Jeneé Darden is an award-winning journalist, author, public speaker and proud Oakland native. She is the executive producer and host of the weekly arts segment Sights & Sounds as well as the series Sights + Sounds Magazine. Jeneé also covers East Oakland for KALW. Jeneé has reported for NPR, Marketplace, KQED, KPCC, The Los Angeles Times, Ebony magazine, Refinery29 and other outlets. In 2005, she reported on the London transit bombings for Time magazine. Prior to coming to KALW, she hosted the podcast Mental Health and Wellness Radio.

See stories by Jeneé Darden