Black Milk – Give the Drummer Some / The Matrix CD [Fat Beats]

Considering everyone’s riding his dick like his nuts have handle bars it’s a controversial point of view; but I think new Detroit poster boy Black Milk is overrated. Some of his stuff is nice – his early dalliances with Slum Village turned up a few gems as did his debut Sound of the City and the Broken Wax EP, particularly the heavy cut Danger. But his feverishly feted sophomore LP left me a bit cold. Maybe I’m just a fussy bastard but I don’t see what all the fanfare is about.

New 12” Give the Drummer Some is an obvious attempt at a big club record, the production is raw and minimal: coming off like the inbred cousin of Amerie’s One Thing. Minus the singing of course. A messy, stripped down drum loop clatters around a lone organ stab until it’s relieved by funky afro-beat style horns. Milk drops some nice flows and it all works well but it’s nothing to get too excited about. I suspect it will be big in the clurrrb though.

The Matrix is a hard slice of robotic future funk garnished with a cheeky Premier scratch chorus. Milk even manages to hold his own alongside lyrical ogres Pharoahe Monch and Sean Price. Bonus non-album cut Dub Rock finds Milk rhyming over a wicked beefed up dub loop to fine effect. A taster from his forthcoming Tronic album this is one of his better releases, restoring my wavering faith and a good value for money 12’ with something for all moods.

By: Max Weldon

• http://www.myspace.com/blackmk
• http://www.FatBeats.com