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Dawn Richard Will Dig Deep Into New Orleans Roots on New Album ‘Creole Culture’
Dawn Richard has announced her new studio album, Creole Culture, due out on 9 October, which explores the singer's New Orleans heritage while resisting a purely nostalgic or historical framing. She described the project as a statement that Creole culture "doesn't have to live in the past to be authentic" and can instead be progressive, global and reflective of contemporary pop culture. The record follows her previous New Orleans-themed albums New Breed (2019) and Second Line (2021), and Richard says it finally completes a personal trilogy exploring her father's and mother's sides of her heritage.
The album has been previewed with the single "Enough," which samples Sister Nancy's "Bam Bam" and layers in jazz horns, addressing themes of self-worth and resisting the idea that value must be earned. Creole Culture will feature a range of collaborators, including New Orleans bounce artist Big Freedia on the opening track, singer Durand Bernarr, vocalists Anjelika "Jelly" Joseph and Tarriona "Tank" Ball of Tank and the Bangas, and Richard's father, Frank Richard of the funk group Chocolate Milk. Richard worked on the record with the musical collective Katalyst.
In short
- Dawn Richard's new album Creole Culture arrives 9 October
- Explores New Orleans roots without leaning on nostalgia
- Features Big Freedia, Durand Bernarr and her father Frank Richard
Explained simply
Creole culture in New Orleans has been shaped by African, European and Caribbean influences, and is expressed through the city’s music, food and traditions. Singer Dawn Richard, who grew up in New Orleans, has drawn on her family’s heritage and the city’s musical life in earlier albums, New Breed and Second Line.
Richard describes Creole Culture as a look at that heritage in the present as well as the past. Its collaborators include local bounce artist Big Freedia, members of Tank and the Bangas, singer Durand Bernarr and Richard’s father, Frank, a former member of funk group Chocolate Milk. The album connects Richard’s family story with the wider sounds of New Orleans and contemporary music.