Black Milk
Curing All Your Audio Ills
2007-10-23
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With all due respect for the elders, the '80s babies are coming, and if Detroit's Black Milk is any indication, hip-hop will be in good hands. The 24-year-old MC-turned-producer extraordinaire presents a potent double threat, reminiscent of Diamond D and fellow Detroit luminary J Dilla.
His involvement with hip-hop started with his passion to rhyme, but his affair with beats struck quick after he explored the art of chopping samples. Black Milk was a fast learner who took it upon himself to study the craft, and after purchasing his tool of choice (the MPC 2000XL) in 1998, he sold his first beat to Slum Village for their 2002 album Trinity. Around the same time he joined up with another Detroit producer, Young RJ, and formed the production duo B.R. Gunna, who would go on to produce the bulk of Slum's follow-up Detroit Deli album, as well as a string of other featured productions.
The Black Milk buzz was beginning to bubble, and in 2005 it reached full boil with the release of his debut Sound of the City, on which he handled both microphone and production duties. His sound was pure and infectious, doused with soul samples and programmed with an acute ear, while his lyrics hit on a street level. That buzzworthy boil resulted in a deal with the coveted Fat Beats, and now with an expanded platform Black Milk is set to show the world just how versatile he really is with his sophomore album Popular Demand. The only direction is up from this point on, so either be the one marveling at the shooting star or the one asking what you missed.
Musically, what impact did Detroit have on you coming up?
Detroit already has a rich musical background with Motown, and a lot of those artists came from here, from Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson to The Temptations and Marvin Gaye. The history here is great for music, and that is a big influence on what I do, especially since I'm into a lot of the soul records and stuff like that.
As far as hip-hop goes, Detroit seems to combine some real eclectic beats, or, like you said, that soulful sound with more street-themed lyrics. Typically, it's not like that, so why do you think Detroit brings those elements together?
I mean, it's sad to say, but there is a lot of negative shit going on here. We've been one of the number one murder capitals at a few different points in time. It gives you that street edge when you're doing your music, especially if you really live in Detroit, so that comes through and gives it that grimy and dirty, but still soulful feel to it. I think that is unique in itself.
There is a line on Popular Demand that I thought summed it up. You say, "Don't put me in a box, we do it all." To me that was it; it's like you embrace being an underground artist, but can't be strictly defined by that.
I thought about that line afterwards, like, I hope the backpackers don't get offended by that line, because it wasn't toward them. It was to the cats that look at me like, "Oh, he's doing that backpack rap." Like man, don't put me in that box. I'm not an underground dude who lights incense all day on some weird shit, 'cause it's not like that. I'm a regular dude. It's just the type of beats I like to make, but if you listen to the lyrics, it's just some regular shit. I just try to make it listenable and feel good to everybody.
Yeah, that definitely comes through and gives the music that appeal, which makes it so dope.
That's my whole goal. I'm an underground artist but I still want to appeal to the normal cat who listens to the radio and watches BET, like if they hear my record, it won't be too far left for them. I'm not gonna change my sound, it's not like I'm gonna try and do what they do on the radio, like I'm not gonna come out with some wack shit ever, but I still want to make it listenable to the average person that just likes hip-hop.
Commercially, what do you think you need to do to take your music to the next level?
There is so much business shit involved. The people who run things hold back hip-hop from being more versatile on a mainstream level. Everything is about money now, so all you're gonna hear is the stuff that appeals to kids—not even the majority, kids. The stuff they play, I can't relate to it. The little dances and whatever. I mean, it's cool, but it's just not versatile. That's what Nas was trying to say with Hip Hop Is Dead: There needs to be more versatility; give everybody a chance. Kanye is one of those people I look at, like he's doing hip-hop shit, his beats are on some real underground hip-hop shit, but he knows how to make it commercial with his lyrics and hooks. If Kanye can do it, I feel I can pull it off too. My music, even though it's soulful, it still has energy to it. It's not sleepy music or anything. I'm not gonna come out with no dumbed-down records or records to appeal to a certain group, or be out of my realm of character; that's not something I'm willing to do. And really, I don't know if I wanna be on a major label right now cause the industry isn't looking too good the way people are selling records. I prefer to make a buzz and stay where I'm at right now, and just make it as big as I can on the level I'm at. Hopefully the big dollars and deals will come, and I'll be up there with Kanye and all them, putting out good music on a major level.
His involvement with hip-hop started with his passion to rhyme, but his affair with beats struck quick after he explored the art of chopping samples. Black Milk was a fast learner who took it upon himself to study the craft, and after purchasing his tool of choice (the MPC 2000XL) in 1998, he sold his first beat to Slum Village for their 2002 album Trinity. Around the same time he joined up with another Detroit producer, Young RJ, and formed the production duo B.R. Gunna, who would go on to produce the bulk of Slum's follow-up Detroit Deli album, as well as a string of other featured productions.
The Black Milk buzz was beginning to bubble, and in 2005 it reached full boil with the release of his debut Sound of the City, on which he handled both microphone and production duties. His sound was pure and infectious, doused with soul samples and programmed with an acute ear, while his lyrics hit on a street level. That buzzworthy boil resulted in a deal with the coveted Fat Beats, and now with an expanded platform Black Milk is set to show the world just how versatile he really is with his sophomore album Popular Demand. The only direction is up from this point on, so either be the one marveling at the shooting star or the one asking what you missed.
Musically, what impact did Detroit have on you coming up?
Detroit already has a rich musical background with Motown, and a lot of those artists came from here, from Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson to The Temptations and Marvin Gaye. The history here is great for music, and that is a big influence on what I do, especially since I'm into a lot of the soul records and stuff like that.
As far as hip-hop goes, Detroit seems to combine some real eclectic beats, or, like you said, that soulful sound with more street-themed lyrics. Typically, it's not like that, so why do you think Detroit brings those elements together?
I mean, it's sad to say, but there is a lot of negative shit going on here. We've been one of the number one murder capitals at a few different points in time. It gives you that street edge when you're doing your music, especially if you really live in Detroit, so that comes through and gives it that grimy and dirty, but still soulful feel to it. I think that is unique in itself.
There is a line on Popular Demand that I thought summed it up. You say, "Don't put me in a box, we do it all." To me that was it; it's like you embrace being an underground artist, but can't be strictly defined by that.
I thought about that line afterwards, like, I hope the backpackers don't get offended by that line, because it wasn't toward them. It was to the cats that look at me like, "Oh, he's doing that backpack rap." Like man, don't put me in that box. I'm not an underground dude who lights incense all day on some weird shit, 'cause it's not like that. I'm a regular dude. It's just the type of beats I like to make, but if you listen to the lyrics, it's just some regular shit. I just try to make it listenable and feel good to everybody.
Yeah, that definitely comes through and gives the music that appeal, which makes it so dope.
That's my whole goal. I'm an underground artist but I still want to appeal to the normal cat who listens to the radio and watches BET, like if they hear my record, it won't be too far left for them. I'm not gonna change my sound, it's not like I'm gonna try and do what they do on the radio, like I'm not gonna come out with some wack shit ever, but I still want to make it listenable to the average person that just likes hip-hop.
Commercially, what do you think you need to do to take your music to the next level?
There is so much business shit involved. The people who run things hold back hip-hop from being more versatile on a mainstream level. Everything is about money now, so all you're gonna hear is the stuff that appeals to kids—not even the majority, kids. The stuff they play, I can't relate to it. The little dances and whatever. I mean, it's cool, but it's just not versatile. That's what Nas was trying to say with Hip Hop Is Dead: There needs to be more versatility; give everybody a chance. Kanye is one of those people I look at, like he's doing hip-hop shit, his beats are on some real underground hip-hop shit, but he knows how to make it commercial with his lyrics and hooks. If Kanye can do it, I feel I can pull it off too. My music, even though it's soulful, it still has energy to it. It's not sleepy music or anything. I'm not gonna come out with no dumbed-down records or records to appeal to a certain group, or be out of my realm of character; that's not something I'm willing to do. And really, I don't know if I wanna be on a major label right now cause the industry isn't looking too good the way people are selling records. I prefer to make a buzz and stay where I'm at right now, and just make it as big as I can on the level I'm at. Hopefully the big dollars and deals will come, and I'll be up there with Kanye and all them, putting out good music on a major level.
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Black Milk
Bio[+]Detroit's Black Milk began his hip-hop career producing beats for Slum Village in 2002 on their mixtape, Dirty District, on which he also made his MC debut. Though he's only in his mid-20s, the young artist has managed to make a name for himself both as a producer and on the mic. In 2006, he signed to Fat Beats and released an EP Broken Wax. 2007 saw the release of his first album, Popular Demand.Interview
Black Milk (current page)
Bio[+]
Detroit's Black Milk began his hip-hop career producing beats for Slum Village in 2002 on their mixtape, Dirty District, on which he also made his MC debut. Though he's only in his mid-20s, the young artist has managed to make a name for himself both as a producer and on the mic. In 2006, he signed to Fat Beats and released an EP Broken Wax. 2007 saw the release of his first album, Popular Demand.Interview
Black Milk (current page)