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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Black Milk = The Total Package, December 10, 2007
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4/5, December 26, 2007
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.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Music. Period., March 15, 2007
Real Lyrics x Unreal Beats = That Real Hip Hop.
Not backpack, not gangsta, just plain dope.
Support this music, it definetely deserves it.
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