A couple of weeks ago I went to a schmancy studio in downtown Manhattan (any place of work that has a bar – excluding an actual bar – can be deemed schmancy; Lifelounge office I’m looking at you), sat awkwardly on a comfortable couch with a bunch of strangers and listened to Detroit producer/MC (not the other way around) Black Milk’s new album,
Album of the Year.
It was a somewhat uncomfortable experience and not because the music was terrible, but because Black Milk was actually present while we were listening to it. We averted our gaze away from his direction whilst it was playing, and he from us, instead lurking at the back and sinking beers. After that he came and stood in front of our little couch semi-circle, and answered questions mostly from a dude who freelances for
Billboard (who asked questions in a way that was more about him displaying his knowledge than being concerned with Black Milk’s actual answers).
May I also add that Black Milk is a total babe (and in one fell swoop I eliminate any fake veil of ‘cred’, awesome) and was happy to walk around and shake the hands of people who may or may not shit on his album after. I personally am not in the habit of shitting on anyone, and thus here is a dot point summary of why you should check out
Album of the Year, which is out next month:
. The album’s title does not refer to the size of Black Milk’s ego, and instead references the number of traumatic experiences (death of Slum Village’s Baatin, death of family members, stroke of his manager Hex Murda) that he went through that act as fuel for the release.
. At least eight of the 12 tracks see Black Milk inviting drummer Daru Jones to drum live over the top of his programmed drums. It adds an extra dimension to the production, making the beats beefier in sound and serves as a great bed for his soul samples.
. In fact it’s the drums that are the most interesting part of the album; kind of frenetic and all over the place but in a tight and deliberate way.
• As usual Black Milk reps the D with his beats, going for a hardened soul approach that hits low and mid frequencies very nicely.
. To me Black Milk’s production and not his rhymes are what make him good, but to his credit there aren’t any real ‘bitch ho’ raps on here.
. Black Milk makes room for guests including AB, Melanie Rutherford, Monica Blaire, Danny Brown and Mr Porter.
. There are a few weird breakdowns on the album and Black Milk said that he is moving more and more towards this direction.
Black Milk 'Welcome (Gotta Go)':
More at
blackmilk.biz.