The Black Fire Documentary: Records, Radio, Rhythms, and the Revolution

Available for campus showings, The Black Fire Documentary highlights the history of Washington, DC music and culture as told by some of the areas well-known artists from the 1970s influenced by Black Fire Records, an independent, Black-owned music label. 

Take a look at the below trailer to see if you recognize DC's music legends.

If your university, arts, , history, music and culture organization would be interested in showing The Black Fire Documentary, please contact plunkyb@gmail.com.

The Black Fire Documentary

Records, Radio, Rhythms, and the Revolution

Announcement of Limited Engagement Screenings and Performances

The Black Fire Documentary is a powerful short film which explores the history of Washington, DC music and culture by highlighting the recordings, art, messaging and people involved and influenced by Black Fire Records, the black-owned, independent label established in the mid-1970s in the Nation’s Capital.

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Black Fire Records was founded by Jimmy Gray and J. Plunky Branch, two iconic names in the music business, synonymous with creativity and commitment. The company was established to amplify and produce culturally relevant jazz and progressive original music for the Washington, DC community. This small, independent label would go on to revolutionize the music business, nationally and internationally.

The acclaimed, 28-minute Black Fire Documentary recounts the story of the label’s founders and the musicians, producers and radio personalities they influenced. The film depicts iconic images of the 1970s & 80s and speaks to how the music and activism of that era shaped the terrain of independent music business and paved the way for innovative jazz, hip-hop, deejays and Afro-future creatives.

Campus screenings

The Black Fire Documentary is now available for limited engagements and the film can be paired with live concert performances, master classes, Black music business seminars, and the Black Fire art exhibition.

Live Performances

• Plunky & Oneness of Juju

• Experience Unlimited

• David Murry

• Other notable jazz, soul, African and go-go funk groups

Master Classes

• Lectures and discussions on Black music, art, history, and culture - past, present and Afro-future.

• Modern music production techniques.

• Sessions with Plunky, Sugarbear (E.U.), musicologists, historians and others who appear in the film

Business Seminars

• The history of the music industry.

• Current music business practices.

• Publishing, copyright, licensing.

• New media trends.

• Marketing.

• The futures of independent musicians, producers, and entrepreneurs.

Black Fire Art

• A exhibition of the storied album artwork, logos, graphics and artifacts of the Black Fire Record company.

“In the 1970s, Washington-based Black Fire Records was simultaneously an incubator and reliquary of D.C.’s African American music and culture and a living symbol of the Black Power and Black Consciousness movements.” - Michael J. West, Washington Post

The Black Fire Documentary is presented by Black Fire Films, LLC and the Home Rule Music and Film Preservation Society, Inc. of Washington, DC.