‘The music lives on’: Richmond local helps create a globally-influential record label

Peggy Stansbery, Staff Writer

Richmond-born James “Plunky” Branch thought he was going to sue Jimmy Gray the first time they met, said Branch, musician, producer and historian. Instead, Gray and Branch co-founded Black Fire Records together. 

“Jimmy had a magazine called Black Fire where he listed the records he was distributing and did articles about them,” Branch said. “But the magazine’s logo was a small version of my album cover from my first record from Strata-East Records. I contacted Strata-East and was like ‘I need to sue him.’”

Strata-East Records told Branch they had given Gray permission to distribute his record and suggested that they meet — they then became friends, expanding Gray’s business and creating Black Fire Records, Branch said. 

The documentary “Black Fire” highlights the history of Black Fire Records, a small but influential Washington, D.C.-based Black-owned label. It showcases how even a small business can have a “major impact,” according to Branch. 

The Afrikana Film Festival presents a screening of “Black Fire” followed by a performance and Q&A with Branch at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. 

Black Fire Records began releasing records in the mid-70s for bands such as Oneness of Juju, Theatre West and Wayne Davis, according to Branch. The label released “all kinds of Black music,” from afro-funk to jazz, Branch said. 

Over time Black Fire Records “stretched their wings internationally,” Branch said. Its catalog was reissued in Japan and now has been bought and reissued by Strut Records in London. While the company no longer exists in Washington, they continue to record and release new music that is distributed by Strut Records. 

“The music lives on,” Branch said. “The music is impactful beyond this little small label that started in Jimmy Gray’s house. It has had an international impact.”

Current hip-hop artists — such as J. Cole and Logic — have sampled music from the Black Fire catalog as well, according to Branch. 

Black Fire Records was more than a record label, Branch said. It was a “cultural and political entity” involved in Black politics and community organizing. 

The documentary showcases how the label interfaced with the “politics of that time” through discussing how Black music often promotes political and cultural ideas and archival footage of the riots in Washington and the Black Panthers, according to Branch. 

Branch hopes the documentary inspires people to look and listen to music, particularly Black music, differently, he said. 

“People oftentimes take music for granted,” Branch said. “It is something that happens in the background of an advertisement or the background while we study, but music can be so much more. It can be a vehicle for studying history, particularly Black history. Much of Black history was not written down, but a lot of it is encoded in the music.”

“Black Fire” has been screened at numerous film festivals and won local awards in the Washington area. The film received “good responses” and has shown it “has some legs,” Branch said. They are currently extending it into a longer piece and creating a second documentary that plans to be released in June. 

“I think the impact of Black Fire has been massive,” Branch said. “But lots of people here in this country might not know about Black Fire, and that is one of the reasons why we did this documentary to document that history.”

The Afrikana Film Festival had previously screened the documentary at their seventh annual festival in September, according to Enjoli Moon, founder and executive director of Afrikana Film Festival. 

Afrikana decided to rescreen the documentary to create a space for people to celebrate and gain a deeper understanding of Branch’s legacy, according to Moon. 

Watching “Black Fire” helps provide an understanding of the label’s work and its international connections, Moon said. It shows people the level of contributions Blacks, and specifically a Black man from Richmond, made to the global music scene and culture. 

“It is not just important for Black people to understand that, especially Black people here in Richmond, but I think it is important for everyone to understand that and have a level of clarity and a level of respect in terms of the Black contribution,” Moon said. 

Afrikana Film Festival’s Sonic Curator Mike Kemetic will present his “playcast,” a combination of songs and write-ups, and host the Q&A at the “Black Fire” screening, according to Kemetic. 

The playcast for the “Black Fire,” named “11:11,” includes 11 songs from Black Fire Records and 11 songs from artists influenced by them, according to Kemetic. 

“I thought it was important to understand how Black Fire fits in with what is going on now and their influence,” Kemetic said. “I wanted to show how you can hear the influence of the label’s artists in the music people are putting out now.”

The Black Fire documentary highlights the label’s authenticity, which made them so successful, Kemetic said. Kemetic hopes his Q&A and the documentary shows people the relevance and “authentic cultural identity” of their music, he said.  

“Their music resonated across the globe,” Kemetic said. “They made the music that was important to them, they made the sounds that were important to them and they used the rhythms that were important to them — and that resonated with people.”