Negro Terror: Hardcore Street Punk from Memphis

Unfortunately, it seems that I am finding some bands after a member has passed away. I found Negro Terror through another band called 2Minute Minor that featured Omar Higgins on a song:

Negro Terror, the brainchild of bassist and reggae frontman Omar Higgins, is an all American, all hardcore punk group that just happens to be all black. But the music that’s played has no color, just the crimson red of pure aggression.

Omar Higgins passed away in April of this year from a stroke. It sounds like he was a pretty great guy from what I can read online:

Higgins was a beloved figure in the local music community, both for his work on stage and off. In addition to his bands, Higgins was also a church youth leader and praise tam music director, a musical ambassador for Le Bonheur, and an activist on the front lines of anti-racist and anti-fascist efforts in Memphis.

His band certainly was awesome. Just listen to what is probably their most well-known tune below. While they are playing some killer skate/street punk, Omar and company seem to infuse it with a fresh take that is much needed in this musical genre. I was a thrasher in the 80s, and I can without a doubt say that Negro Terror would have ruled the day in the 80s skate punk scene. You can hear their songs on BandCamp, or go watch a documentary on Amazon Prime (I just found out about it, so I will watch as soon as I can). Negro Terror had finished a full-length album called Paranoia, but I am not sure if it will still be released or not.

“Coming up playing this music, people looked at me funny. They’d say, ‘That’s white-boy music.’ But music doesn’t have a color,” said Higgins. “And it’s not about being an ‘all black’ punk band either. The whole idea is for young African American kids to feel comfortable doing whatever it is they want musically. [Negro Terror] is about destroying those old ideas.”

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