Album Preview: Black Milk "Album Of The Year"

For the last 12 months, it's been a roller-coaster ride for Detroit native Black Milk. There have been ups (getting love for his critically-acclaimed album, Tronic), and plenty of downs (Baatin and his aunt passing away, his manager Hex having a stroke, and his label, Fat Beats, recently announcing it will close its last two retail locations, although they'll still maintain an online and label presence). For anyone worried about Black's mindstate, though, naming his latest opus Album Of The Year should be ample reassurance that the rapper/producer is channeling his emotions into making good music. His self-produced fourth album drops on September 14th, but during a listening session in NYC, he gave us an early glimpse of what's to come.

Complex says: As the military drums and horns build up the beat, Black Milk spits lines like "Tryin' to find a purpose in this lifetime" and "Rewind time to go back"—a clear indication that the past 365 days haven't been his best. But the album can't be all sad news, so let's keep it moving.

Complex says: The requisite song about women seems to pop up on every album, and this is it. The beat is nice and Black gets some vocal help from AB, but the content can get a little stale, thanks to lines like "Party all night 'cause tomorrow's not a workday." Which pretty much only applies to the unemployed, so why would you rub that shit in?

Complex says: This is the one song that everyone couldn't wait to hear, and thankfully it delivers on its promise; the beat is laced with a smooth old-school sample and all three D-Town representatives hold their own. Royce as always comes nice with the one-liners ("You can

Complex says: Similar to the title, the beat is a little distorted but matches perfectly with the drums and Melanie's great vocals. Black talks about a lot of his personal issues such as the deaths in his family and his camp, and Hex's stroke, lamenting,

Complex says: The horns and paranoid strings on this track will wake you up; Black Milk is relentless with the introspective flow, spitting about tour life and how "other niggas couldn't walk in these shoes." The nod factor is in full effect on this one.

Complex says: A little awkward. Black doesn't rap too much on the track, leaving most of the work to a little-known Danny Brown who does a competent job, but nothing too noteworthy. This is a track that "How Dare You" could have replaced, but hey—you win some and you lose some.

Complex says: An uptempo beat, nice drums, and dope wordplay usually equal a hot track, and that's what this is. Black Milk adds a few "straight for the club" lines like,

Complex says: The song kicks off with a dude going Madd Rapper on Black, hating on him with lines like

Complex says: As the guitar riff, bass, and drums all creep slowly onto the song, Black Milk gives it his all. Easily one of the best tracks on the album, he shouts out people in the game now and also says, "I wish Proof was here for this, I wish Dilla could hear this." With Mr. Porter doin' his thing on the chorus and Black's signature long outro, this is a great ending to a well-rounded album.