Customer Reviews

Popular Demand

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you listen to a lot of hip hop records, and you check the album credits, you come to realize that while there are many nice MCs and many quality producers, there are very few that can do both. Swizz Beats and Kanye West are two notable producers who have tried, but they generally come up short as MCs. Looking for that cat who does both, and even does them well? Enter Black Milk.

The production on Popular Demand is, in my opinion, flawless. Black Milk mans the boards from top to bottom without help. He crafts a wide variety of beats, from the booming "Sound the Alarm" to the instrumental "Play the Keys", and flows seamlessly from track to track with interludes that would make Pete Rock proud.

Black Milk handles the bulk of the rhymes on his own. Guest spots are minimal, and are reserved for Black's fellow Detroit MCs. Everyone, from reasonably well-known cats like Gulity Simpson and Slum Village to relative newcomer Nametag more than justify their places on the album. Each bolsters the quality of the track, but none outshine the man of the hour, Black Milk. He's not out to baffle the listener with intricate rhyme schemes, but he has a nice, straight-ahead flow. His rhymes fit perfectly with the music.

It's very difficult to pick standout tracks on an album so strong, but I especially love the banger "Sound the Alarm (w/ Guilty Simpson)", "Shut it Down", and "Action (w/ Slum Village & Baatin)". Choosing favorites is really like pulling hairs though. You're getting top quality from beginning to end. There's no subpar material here. I couldn't skip anything if I tried.

Conclusion: Black Milk-Popular Demand is easily one of my favorite albums of 2007. I've had this album for 6 months now, and I still find myself unable to push it aside. I'm convinced, after hearing this album, that Black Milk is a big part of hip hop's future. I highly recommend this to anyone fond of the Detroit/Chicago hip hop scenes. No matter what music you like though, do yourself a favor and give this a listen. Flawless.

Being labeled as the next J Dilla(RIP) raises your expectations especially if its your debut(not including EPs, mixtapes, etc). Past producer(s)-rapper(s) haven't been considered god MCs either. Few have actually gotten critical acclaim. A few that come to mind are Large Professor, J Dilla(duh), Kool Keith, Dr. Dre, Danny!, Warren G, Q-Tip Kanye West, among many others. The point is, being a producer-rapper, people will criticize you if you don't balance your work equally. That being said, I'mma overview the album.

Production: Its clear that this is his strong point, since this is his main focus and he certainly delivers. They are stuck between banger and soulful, the blend is just perfect. Its hard to pick a highlight as they are just perfectly blended.

Lyrics: In all honesty, Black Milk isn't a great lyricist. Giving credit, he's not terrible but there wasn't much that stood out and made me rewind. He can improve a lot. What surprised me was the quite limited of features. I mean, he has 6 solo songs, which is rare for a producer-rapper to do. You would expect for him to give us a crazy amount guests, do the hooks and a few short verses. But, in truth, the guests aren't exactly talented cats, atleast on this album. I haven't done much research yet and discovered some of these others cats' material, other than One Be Lo and Slum Village.

Overall: Black Milk has a lot to improve and it seems like his main focus on this record was to represent his hometown of Detroit 313(heck, he released it on March 13!). In God's honest truth, I wish he would give his beats to other talented rappers. Is this a good record? Yes. Is it enjoyable? If you like laid back production. Is it the next coming? From a lyrical stand point, no but Black Milk could be the next underground producer to blow up as he has a lot of hype already. You be the judge on whether or not to pick this up.

Real Lyrics x Unreal Beats = That Real Hip Hop.

Not backpack, not gangsta, just plain dope.

Support this music, it definetely deserves it.

I understand now why NAS said "hip hop is dead".For the fact that albums like this won't get a 5mics(not a even a measley 4 mics for that matter)or at 3 spins a day on radio.Thank goodness(I really wanted to say GOD for real)we still have artist like Blackmilk making real music again.THANK U!

I have to admit, I found this album by chance. I have never heard of Black milk before, but I was seduced by the great feedback that Amazon reviewers had given this rapper/producer. Beware though, this album is addicting. As I listened to the first track, once the talking ceased, I became infatuated with the beat. I was just hoping that his rapping ability was somewhere close to his producing ability. He does a quality job through punchlines and story telling. His smooth voice melds into the production like liquid metal. Every track seems perfect for his delivery (which is only average); In addition the album moves along with quality song after song. You'll find no weak songs on this album.

The best production on the album also coincide Black doing his best not to let down the beat. He seems to step up his ability to address the beat on the same level at least. If the beat is lacking I just don't think that Black could keep the listener interested throughout so the production is key and here he is sure not to disappoint.

The guest appearances are not bad, but not great either, (except for One Be Lo's verse), which in a way is not a bad thing because no rapper wants to be out-shined on his own album. The other high quality appearance would be Slum Village on "Action."

So the flaws in the album would be Black's rap skills needing some improvement and some relatively weak guest appearances. With that being said he has an amazing amount of potential.

The best tracks on "Popular Demand" are "Popular Demand" "Insane" "Shut it Down" "Three+sum" "Action" & "One Song" the bonus track is also very good, thanks to One Be Lo though.

I have to admit that this album made it difficult for me to decide on whether to give it 4 or 5 stars. My decision was cemented on 4 simply because I feel it is closer to 4 than 5. I'll end this review by saying that this is easily a very enjoyable listen, don't pass it up because you've never heard of Black Milk.

Thank you Black Milk for producing a superior album. I am so happy that there are some true hip hop albums out there. I have been waiting so long for a new young, unique and progressive producer. Many compare Black Milk to Dilla and though I believe Black Milk keeps the Detriot legacy going on strong, he still has his own unique style and talent.

Not to mention, GETTING BATTIN, T3, and ELZI back together on a few cuts!!!!!! What more can one ask for!

The other MC's featured are well selected, this CD booms in my car!!!

Keep it up young brother,

Highly recommended.

...just listening to the advance of this joint puts my faith back in hip hop...ill production and dope lyrics all throughout...solid as hell...but that dosen't mean their aren't stand outs. I would say the best three tracks are:

1.Popular Demand
2.Sound the alarm
3.Insane

all in all, this is mos def one of the best releases of this year so far...pick this up along with hell razah's renaissance child.

peace

All I have to say is that the beats on this album are crazy!!!! Black milk is an above average rapper and even better producer. This is a definite must have.

Sound of the city was just an intro album cause this one knocks. Black milk really set the production off and his styles just unique. This albums been on repeat since it came out. Don't sleep on black milk.

From a production standpoint this has to be one of the best albums I have ever heard. Lyrically, is where this album comes up short. Don't get me wrong, the lyrics are far from terrible and i'll be going into a second straight summer playing the album regularly. All the beats on Popular Demand are very refreshing and doubt that this would be a disappointment.