Okayplayer & Vinyl Me, Please Celebrate the Artwork of Iconic D.C. Record Label Black Fire

Celebrate the artwork of iconic DC Record Label Black Fire.

Vinyl Me, Please has announced its May records of the month. The record for the Essential Club — there are three clubs, and Essential covers a wide spectrum of music — is a very special record.

The record is Free Yourself, which is the debut LP from somewhat obscure DC go-go band Experience Unlimited. The album was released in 1977 on a little known black-owned record label called Black Fire. The label, which was founded by producer and radio DJ Jimmy Gray, put out jazz, funk, African, reggae records from local DMV-area acts.

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One of the ways Black Fire distinguished themselves was through the artwork showcased on their releases, which featured gorgeous, psychedelic artwork from black artists like Muzi Branch, Abdul Salim, Malik Edwards, and more.

To celebrate the history of that record, Vinyl Me, Please is teaming up with Okayplayer to host an event at the Okay Space gallery in Brooklyn, New York. The exhibit, which will be going down on May 9th, will bring together the paintings, album jackets, graphics, and photographs from some of the brilliant artists doing artwork for Black Fire, from the '70s to the '90s. 

Black Fire musician and producer James “Plunky” Branch owns the masters and the original tapes for much of the catalog will be at the Space, conducting a Q/A with musical encyclopedia Jeff "Chairman" Mao, from Redbull Radio. After the Q/A, there will be a DJ set from Egon, founder of Now-Again Records.

It's going to be an amazing night. RSVP here.

To learn more about Black Fire, check out this nifty video Vinyl Me, Please produced.