On Friday, July 23, Alligator Records recording artist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram will release his highly anticipated second album, 662. It’s the next chapter in the still-unfolding story of the 22-year-old guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Ingram describes 662 (the number is northern Mississippi’s telephone area code) as “a presentation of my life in and away from the Delta.” The album overflows with hard-hitting original songs, jaw-dropping guitar work and deep, soul-possessed vocals.
“The world was introduced to me with Kingfish,” Ingram says of his chart-topping 2019 debut. “Now with 662, I want the world to hear and meet a different, more personal side of me. My sophomore album is a direct reflection of my growth as a young man. This album is very personal to me as it was conceptualized, created and co-written during the Covid-19 pandemic when I returned home to the 662 after a truly whirlwind year of change and growth. Coming home to write this album offered a remarkable history for me to draw upon. 662 is an album that sits upon the legacy and influence my blues music elders have instilled in me, but is also my unique, personal story.”
662 was recorded in Nashville and co-written and produced (as was Kingfish) by Grammy-winner Tom Hambridge. It features 13 songs displaying many sides of Ingram’s dynamic personality, as well as his one-of-a-kind guitar and vocal skills. The first single, 662’s title track, made its worldwide premiere on SiriusXM’s B.B. King’s Bluesville channel on May 10. The song immediately became the #1 Most Added Single on the influential BDS AAA (Adult Album Alternative) Indicator Radio Chart. Guitar World, who in 2020 named Kingfish one of the top 30 guitarists in the world, said, “On 662, Ingram takes things all the way back to the place that shaped him, his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Anchoring the song with a hot-rodded, Delta–by-way-of-Chuck Berry riff, and punctuating the proceedings with sweet touches of high-gain, fleet-fingered blues guitar glory, Ingram gives a perfect tribute to the birthplace of the blues, showing all the while that the genre is still incredibly vital.”
