Album of the Year

by Black Milk

As much as I like Black Milk's brand of post-Dilla production, I find I get a little tired of listening to him rap.  He's improving all the time - the lyrics on this album are better than they were on Tronic, his release of two years ago, but I would still prefer to see him stay behind the boards a little more.

Album of the Year has twelve tracks, and features a nice mix of Detroit hip-hop royalty, with appearances by Royce da 5'9, Elzhi, and Mr. Porter, but most of the tracks are Black Milk solo efforts (or feature someone singing the hooks), and the project becomes a little monotonous towards the end.

Don't get me wrong - I like this album, but I would have liked it a lot more had there been some more variety or substance.  It starts out very promisingly with '365', an accounting of the last year of Black's life, with reference to the friends that have passed (Baatin) or had some serious problems (Hex Murda).  Beyond the first few tracks, everything kind of blends for me, and none of the songs really stand out.

This is a great album for beats though....

White Van Music

by Jake One
Jake One first caught my attention with his beats on De La Soul's 'The Grind Date', and I started noticing his name popping up from time to time in different liner notes. He didn't have an immediately recognizable sound, but he did make nice beats. When I heard that Rhymesayers was releasing his first solo album, and I saw who would be featured on it, I figured it was a safe purchase.

This is a good album, and I think could have been a great album, had a few songs been trimmed off of it. Now, this becomes a matter of personal bias, as it is the more mainstream songs featuring artists like Freeway, Young Buck, Evidence, Prodigy, Alchemist, and MOP that I would lose.

The tracks that feature more underground artists are what kept this in my car for so long. Little Brother has a nice track on here, as do Elzhi & Royce Da 5'9", Blueprint, and Black Milk & Nottz. Among the best tracks is 'The Truth', with Freeway and Brother Ali - a strange pairing for sure, but one that works exceptionally well. Posdnuos and Slug record 'Oh Really', another fantastic track, and another unusual partnership. These two songs together remind me a little of that "Think Differently" project of a couple of years back.

Of course, the big draw of the album are the two tracks featuring MF Doom. He still comes correct, and spits in his usual eccentric style. It's nice to see that the man is still recording.

As for Jake One's beats - they are consistently good throughout the album, and he shows a lot of promise for both underground and mainstream appeal. This album comes with an instrumental disk.

The Preface

by Elzhi

The last year has been very good for Black Milk. He produced all but three of the tracks on this album, and in more than a few places, completely upstaged Elzhi, and not by appearing on the mic (which only happens once)

This is a very consistent, very polished album from one-half of Slum Village. Elzhi has been getting more and more buzz based on his mixtapes, and he definitely comes correct on his first official solo album. But like I said, it's not really a solo album. To me, this is an Elzhi/Black Milk collabo, and that's its strength. These two artists were born to work together.

Black's beats are bouncy at the same time that they are driving, and Elzhi shows some strong lyrical talent to match them. His voice rides over these beats like an expert surfer (I know - wrong image for Detroit rap, but it's all I could imagine). In terms of his writing - it's a little variable. There are some truly amazing songs ('Growing Up', 'The Leak'), and some where his subject matter strikes me as a little juvenile ('Brag Swag') or cliched ('Talking in My Sleep').

This album is graced with some excellent guest appearances. 'Fire (rmx)' features a who's who of Detroit: Guilty Simpson, Fat Ray and Black Milk. Fellow Slum Villa T3 shows up on 'Save Ya', a track which he produced. The greatest track on the album though is 'Motown 25', featuring Royce da 5'9". Royce kills the track, with lines like:

Pardon if I sound lazy
I been puffing crazy
and writing Puff's shit
so motherfucker fuck you pay me.

I'm sure I'm not the only person craving a full length Royce/Black Milk album - that would be a classic for sure.

Tronic

by Black Milk

Post-Dilla hip-hop is in good hands. We've seen a number of artists rush in not to take Dilla's place, but to take his legacy and run with it. One of the leaders of the pack has to be Black Milk.

With Tronic, Black puts out an impressive album. He's improved immensely as an MC, and the beats on this album are banging.

The disc starts off with a minimalist piano loop, before moving into an amazing drum beat for "Long Story Short", Black's autobiography of making beats and songs. "Bounce" does just that. "Give the Drummer Sum" has gotten a lot of praise, but the Chipmunk hook kind of annoys me.

My favourite track on the album is "Losing Out", featuring Royce da 5'9". The sample (what is that from?) matches perfectly with the lyrics, and Royce kills his parts. After this comes "Hell Yeah" with Fat Ray, containing my favourite lines of the album:

"The only thing you never see is cleaner streets and bigger homes;
The only thing I ever see is church church liquor store."

This is not a perfect album - there are a couple of songs that are unnecessary or forgettable - but it is a very good album, and perfect to bump in the car.