The record is called Tronic. A made-up word that combines "The Chronic" + "Tron" = the second territory of rap. Black Milk is a disciple's disciple - a producer who's clearly separated the wheat from the chaff when it comes to the landfills of mostly-stupid urban music that have preceded him. But he sifts through it to pave his own way, like half-trained Jedi with the right amount of reverence for the good and powerful things that have come before, and the right amount of "fuckit" to say, let's move on. He's the manifestation of the J Dilla spirit. Keeping everything in his tracks at cross purposes to serve a higher groove. His sounds raw and not-stock. His beats always sick with the flu.
It's not a competition, but this is the only hip hop album I've heard all year* to get under my skin.
Black Milk "Overdose"
Black Milk "Bond 4 Life (Feat. Melanie Rutherford)"
Black Milk "The Matrix (Feat. Pharoahe Monch, Sean Price, & DJ Premier)"
Black Milk "Try"
*Unless you count Kardinal Offishall's amazing Not 4 Sale.
3 comments:
huh? Black Milk has major international buzz. ready any hip-hop blog or mag and he's getting tons of love. top ten lists. "the new kanye." trust me, people are freaking out. well, people who know from good rap music.
You're right, he's getting the love in the circles you're talking about. I was more thinking - why hasn't it spilled over into the mainstream and indie press, the way that lil' wayne and T.I. have. In my opinion Tronic schools both of those records by a longshot, and it surprises me that I didn't see Tronic on a single year-end best of list. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.
The Set Up and Tronic received solid reviews from Pitchfork. If you notice, the only hip-hop album that cracked their Top 50 of 2008 was that horrid Lil Wayne abortion, The Carter III. The best hip-hop albums of the year in my opinion, Q-Tip's and Black Milk, respectfully, didn't make it. Weezy is garbage and that's Universal, so you know there's major payola/major label favors involved there automatically. T.I. is on Atlantic. Do the math. Of course Tronic is a better record. "Indie-press" and "mainstream press" doesn't know much about hip-hop or cover it aside from what is on and/or distributed by a major label. I recall Rolling Stone giving Nas Illmatic 4 stars. Lol. Most are clueless.
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