The Illustrious Blacks
also plays Berlin — 1 night
Once upon a time in a galaxy not far away, there lived two kings. Each was the ruler of his own deliciously glorious planet. The first king, Manchildblack, was well known throughout the cosmos for his ethereal vocals, celestial sonics and earthy musical messages. The other king, Monstah Black, was a star in the solar system for his gravity defying performances, gender bending fashions and spacey disposition. One magical night, an inexplicable ultramagnetic pull forced the two planets to collide. A technicolored explosion occurred, turning night into day, with a feast of aural and visual delights. It was then that the universe was changed forever. Manchildblack and Monstah Black united and became The Illustrious Blacks.
With inspiration from artists like Prince, David Bowie, Grace Jones, Boy George and George Clinton, The Illustrious Blacks have arrived with a mission to fuse futuristic funk, hypnotic house and cosmic pop into pulsating positivity for the planet. The real life married couple are not only co-pilots on their artistic voyage, but are united in their fantastical journey through life.
The rest of it — six more paragraphs
In 2017, The Illustrious Blacks released their highly anticipated debut EP, NeoAfroFuturisticPsychedelicSurrealisticHippy, on Concierge Records. The EP features the high energy single "Blast Off," the seductive "Red Light," the thought provoking "Delusions of Grandeur" and the anthemic "Black Like Jesus." In the same year, the dynamic duo also found time to work with producer Nickodemus on a remake of the 90s dance floor classic "Funk That!," which spawned a popular music video.
The acclaimed couple found even more praise for their epic live shows and DJ sets, which fuse music, dance, theater & fashion as the ingredients to expand minds, shake bootys and save the world one beat at a time. Their infectious DJ set on Okayplayer’s Facebook live went viral and has put them on the global radar of emerging musical artists.
The Illustrious Blacks have been featured at packed venues such as Central Park Summerstage (NYC), Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater (NYC), Output (NYC), Le Poisson Rouge (NYC), Performance Space New York (NYC), Brooklyn Bowl (NYC), C’mon Everybody (NYC), Afterglow Festival (Mass) and even found themselves touring to Bali, Indonesia.
The Illustrious Blacks have been receiving praise from major media outlets including The New Yorker Magazine. Their celebratory music video “Black Like Jesus” was premiered in Billboard. Also, their single “Revolutionary Love” debuted in Paper Magazine, while its music video was featured on Out.com. They were also featured in a lifestyle article for the New York Times.
2019 is shaping up to be a busy year for The Illustrious Blacks. With a tour of Asia, Australia and the UK planned, they have been commissioned to create a brand new live show as part of The Shed's inaugural Open Call in NY. Simultaneously, they are recording their debut full length album to be released later in the year.
Individually, Monstah Black and Manchildblack illuminate the galaxy with equal magnitude. As The Illustrious Blacks, they have combined their powers to save the world one beat at a time, and encourage all to LIVE THE HYPE LIFE!
Their Resident Advisor profile, in full and unedited.
The nights
- tomorrowThe Flea Theatertheir 28th night · Manchildblack1 going
- Thu 22 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 29th night · Manchildblack1 going
- Fri 23 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 30th night · Manchildblack
- Sat 24 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 31st night · Manchildblack
- Sun 25 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 32nd night · Manchildblack
- Tue 27 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 33rd night · Manchildblack
- Wed 28 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 34th night · Manchildblack
2026
- Sun 18 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 27th night · Manchildblack
- Sat 17 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 26th night · Manchildblack
- Fri 16 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 25th night · Manchildblack
- Thu 15 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 24th night · Manchildblack
- Wed 14 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 23rd night · Manchildblack
- Sun 11 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 22nd night · Manchildblack
- Sat 10 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 21st night
- Fri 9 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 20th night · Manchildblack
- Wed 7 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 19th night · Manchildblack
- Sun 4 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 18th night · Manchildblack
- Sat 3 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 17th night · Manchildblack
- Fri 2 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 16th night · Manchildblack
- Thu 1 OctThe Flea Theatertheir 15th night · Manchildblack
- Wed 30 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 14th night · Manchildblack
- Sun 27 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 13th night · Manchildblack
- Sat 26 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 12th night · Manchildblack
- Fri 25 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 11th night · Manchildblack
- Wed 23 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 10th night · Manchildblack
- Sun 20 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 9th night · Manchildblack
- Sat 19 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 8th night · Manchildblack
- Thu 17 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 7th night · Manchildblack
- Wed 16 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 6th night · Manchildblack
- Tue 15 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 5th night · Manchildblack
- Sun 13 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 4th night · Manchildblack
- Sat 12 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 3rd night · Manchildblack
- Fri 11 SepThe Flea Theatertheir 2nd night · Manchildblack
- Thu 10 SepThe Flea Theaterfirst time · Manchildblack
- Sat 11 JulC'mon Everybodytheir 2nd night · Manchildblack
- Sat 27 JunUnder the K Bridgefirst time · Ladyfag, The Bowery Presents
- Sat 11 AprC'mon Everybodyfirst time · Manchildblack
- Fri 6 FebThe Chocolate Factoryfirst time · POWERSTROKE
2025 — 2 nights
- Sun 14 Dec 2025Love's Clubfirst time · The Ornate Project
- Sun 5 Jan 2025Blue Midtownfirst time · The LiteHaus
2024 — 5 nights
- Sun 8 Dec 2024Good Roomtheir 3rd night · Benny Soto
- Sun 20 Oct 2024Good Roomtheir 2nd night · Benny Soto, Dance.Here.Now., Nervous
- Sat 12 Oct 2024TBA - The House 29 Locust Street Brooklyn, NYBOMBA ZEEN
- Fri 4 Oct 2024Red Eye NYfirst time · House In Order Presents
- Sun 7 Apr 2024public recordstheir 2nd night
2023 — 4 nights
- Thu 9 Nov 2023Good Roomfirst time
- Thu 21 Sep 2023public recordsfirst time
- Sat 19 Aug 2023Le Bainfirst time · Le Bain at The Standard
- Fri 18 Aug 2023Jolene Sound Room Brooklynfirst time · Jolene Brooklyn
Their rooms
One tick a night, on the one axis this page has — Aug 2023, where the listings start, to Jan 2027, the last night anybody has announced. The shaded end has not happened yet.
- The Flea TheaterSep 2026 – Oct 202627 nights
- Good RoomNov 2023 – Dec 20243 nights
- C'mon EverybodyApr 2026 – Jul 20262 nights
- public recordsSep 2023 – Apr 20242 nights
Once each: Under the K Bridge, The Chocolate Factory, Love's Club, Blue Midtown, Red Eye NY, Le Bain and Jolene Sound Room Brooklyn. One of the 49 listings never named a room, and is not counted as one.
Who they play with
Counted from the bills themselves, over bills of twelve names or fewer. A pair's count includes a night that is announced and not yet played; where there is one, the row says when.
- Amazonian RockstarThe Flea Theater ×34 · Sep 2026 – Oct 2026 · together again tomorrow34 nights
- Blaine PetroviaThe Flea Theater ×34 · Sep 2026 – Oct 2026 · together again tomorrow34 nights
- Courtney J. CookThe Flea Theater ×34 · Sep 2026 – Oct 2026 · together again tomorrow34 nights
- Niegel SmithThe Flea Theater ×34 · Sep 2026 – Oct 2026 · together again tomorrow34 nights
- Queen RavendenThe Flea Theater ×34 · Sep 2026 – Oct 2026 · together again tomorrow34 nights
- Javi PerezThe Flea Theater ×20 · Oct 2026 · together again tomorrow20 nights
- DeShawn MarshallThe Flea Theater ×14 · Sep 202614 nights
- DJ DawsonRed Eye NY ×1, The Chocolate Factory ×1 · Oct 2024 – Feb 20262 nights
2 more, 2 nights each
- Rimarkablepublic records ×1, The Chocolate Factory ×1 · Apr 2024 – Feb 20262 nights
- Peter MatsonLe Bain ×1, public records ×1 · Aug 2023 – Sep 20232 nights
The nights, the rooms and the bills are the listings themselves. The biography and the photograph are Resident Advisor's. Nothing on this page was written for it.