Rappfox speaks to Detroit rapper/producer Black Milk who has recently been working on a new album FEVER and is touring Australia this month.
In your career, you have worked/associated with some interesting artists J Dilla, Black Thought of The Roots and Jack White of The White Stripes, what inspires your music?
At this point, my life experiences and things happening in the world inspire the content of my music. In terms of sonics, hearing good music from other artists of all genres from today but mostly from the past influence my production.
You have been in the game for sometime, how has your music and style evolved over the past 15+ years?
Sonically, my music has grown because I’ve grown as a producer/musician and as an engineer. I’ve always preferred to learn certain aspects of music, so I can have more control over the outcome, and engineering has been one of those aspects. More specifically, I’d say my sound has continued to evolve in the sense that I continue to experiment with new sounds and add layers, like live instrumentation, and different textures. When I first started out with Popular Demand, I was soul-sampling. Now, I rarely sample a soul record. With Tronic, I experimented with electronic sounds. With Album of the Year, I took my first stab at heavily incorporating live instruments and non-traditional drum patterns. With No Poison No Paradise and If There’s A Hell Below, I incorporated more jazz sounds. On the lyrical side, I told more character-driven narratives and narratives in general. With my new album, FEVER, I’ve incorporated more rock and funk (soul, too, but not in the form of soul samples), and live guitar, which is a prominent element on the record. Being a producer, writer, and engineer (I mix all of my records and master most of them as well), it takes a lot of time to near “mastery” level of any one aspect of these things. But after all this time, I feel like I have more control now than ever before over what I’m creating.
Is it still easy to find inspiration with both your beats and rhymes? And what do you naturally prefer?
Yes, I feel like I’m growing into my own sound and style more and more with each project. Being someone who digs for records constantly makes it easier to always have a source to pull from for inspiration. Even thought I started rapping before producing, I’ve always gravitated more toward production. I literally make beats every single day I’m home.
What can Perth punters expect from your set next Sunday afternoon at Mojos Bar?
A majority of music they've never heard before mixed in with album cuts from previous projects, and a few songs from my new album.
First off, I’m excited to play Perth for the first time. The crowd can expect to hear a lot of unreleased Black Milk beats, a preview of tunes from my forthcoming album FEVER, and a few more familiar rap tunes from my catalog.
What new music are working on? What’s planned for Black Milk in 2018?
My new album, FEVER, drops next week on February 23 via Mass Appeal Records and my own label Computer Ugly. The first single, “Laugh Now Cry Later,” is out now. FEVER is a culmination of everything I’ve done so far in my career. It’s a mixture of my traditional beat programming and sample-based production mixed with live instrumentation from my long-time collaborators Daru Jones and Malik Hunter, the great Chris “Daddy” Dave and Detroit-based newcomers Sasha Kashperko and Ian Fink. I went in to the process intending to make a more “feel-good” album, especially since my last couple of releases were on the darker side. But with everything going on in the world, from the election to police brutality, I couldn’t help but make a darker album touching on the issues and how I’m maneuvering through it all.
To pre-order Black Milk's FEVER album visit here.
For more info on the Low Key Source BBQ Party featuring Black Milk, Hyclass & Rok Riley, visit the Facebook event page here.
And to keep up to date with Black Milk and his music, follow his Facebook page.
In your career, you have worked/associated with some interesting artists J Dilla, Black Thought of The Roots and Jack White of The White Stripes, what inspires your music?
At this point, my life experiences and things happening in the world inspire the content of my music. In terms of sonics, hearing good music from other artists of all genres from today but mostly from the past influence my production.
You have been in the game for sometime, how has your music and style evolved over the past 15+ years?
Sonically, my music has grown because I’ve grown as a producer/musician and as an engineer. I’ve always preferred to learn certain aspects of music, so I can have more control over the outcome, and engineering has been one of those aspects. More specifically, I’d say my sound has continued to evolve in the sense that I continue to experiment with new sounds and add layers, like live instrumentation, and different textures. When I first started out with Popular Demand, I was soul-sampling. Now, I rarely sample a soul record. With Tronic, I experimented with electronic sounds. With Album of the Year, I took my first stab at heavily incorporating live instruments and non-traditional drum patterns. With No Poison No Paradise and If There’s A Hell Below, I incorporated more jazz sounds. On the lyrical side, I told more character-driven narratives and narratives in general. With my new album, FEVER, I’ve incorporated more rock and funk (soul, too, but not in the form of soul samples), and live guitar, which is a prominent element on the record. Being a producer, writer, and engineer (I mix all of my records and master most of them as well), it takes a lot of time to near “mastery” level of any one aspect of these things. But after all this time, I feel like I have more control now than ever before over what I’m creating.
Is it still easy to find inspiration with both your beats and rhymes? And what do you naturally prefer?
Yes, I feel like I’m growing into my own sound and style more and more with each project. Being someone who digs for records constantly makes it easier to always have a source to pull from for inspiration. Even thought I started rapping before producing, I’ve always gravitated more toward production. I literally make beats every single day I’m home.
What can Perth punters expect from your set next Sunday afternoon at Mojos Bar?
A majority of music they've never heard before mixed in with album cuts from previous projects, and a few songs from my new album.
First off, I’m excited to play Perth for the first time. The crowd can expect to hear a lot of unreleased Black Milk beats, a preview of tunes from my forthcoming album FEVER, and a few more familiar rap tunes from my catalog.
What new music are working on? What’s planned for Black Milk in 2018?
My new album, FEVER, drops next week on February 23 via Mass Appeal Records and my own label Computer Ugly. The first single, “Laugh Now Cry Later,” is out now. FEVER is a culmination of everything I’ve done so far in my career. It’s a mixture of my traditional beat programming and sample-based production mixed with live instrumentation from my long-time collaborators Daru Jones and Malik Hunter, the great Chris “Daddy” Dave and Detroit-based newcomers Sasha Kashperko and Ian Fink. I went in to the process intending to make a more “feel-good” album, especially since my last couple of releases were on the darker side. But with everything going on in the world, from the election to police brutality, I couldn’t help but make a darker album touching on the issues and how I’m maneuvering through it all.
To pre-order Black Milk's FEVER album visit here.
For more info on the Low Key Source BBQ Party featuring Black Milk, Hyclass & Rok Riley, visit the Facebook event page here.
And to keep up to date with Black Milk and his music, follow his Facebook page.