As for the song, I was into from the beginning. Production is perfect for a braggadocio posse cut, and for the most part, each emcees comes with it. Certainly can’t hate Black Milk’s verse – he makes an MJ and Stevie reference.

And while both of us, independently mind you, thought Elzhi sounded off, the tail end of his verse is pretty strong.

Not the strongest track on the album, which isn’t a slight as AOTY is pretty consistent from front to back.

Speaking of Thriller, I like when artists aim for the 40-50 minute mark for album length. I’ve actually read some refer to it as the Thriller rule. I think it makes for a more consistent listen, and limits the opportunity for weak tracks. And as Black Milk’s production sounds more developed these days, e.g. beats sound more layered, and more interesting, I wonder if he focused on packing a more meaningful punch in a tighter package.

Drums, drums, and more crashing drums. It was difficult for a large swath of Dilla fans to overlook the obvious characteristics that Black Milk’s sound shared with Dilla’s since he came on the scene: drums, drums, and drums. However, on Album of the Year, Black Milk really stepped up his game with live drums (utilizing a live 4-piece band); this becomes the emblem of AOTY and easily carries the album. “Keep It Going” sounds like “Give The Drummer Sum” part two, which was the signature track of Black Milk’s last album, Tronic. He also has some great baselines throughout AOTY, particularly on the introductory “365″. Sonically, Album of the Year doesn’t let down.

I found Black Milk’s guest spots curious, and agree with Kyle: several of the featured artists add minimally to AOTY’s overall sound. From the range of artists that Black Milk has worked with, I would think he’d be able to do better than Danny Brown. Listen, I know Danny Brown gets props in Detroit, but his spot on the cleverly named “Black & Brown” is weak. (I thought the same thing about him on Dilla’s “Dilla Bot v. the Hybrid” from Jay Stay Paid. It’s too bad, too, because that “Black & Brown” beat bangs. I also agree somewhat with Kyle regarding “Deadly Medley.” Elzhi doesn’t sound like himself (not sure if this is recording, or anything circumstantial). Being a huge Elzhi fan, I wasn’t moved by his verse. I think Black Milk and Royce both go hard on “Deadly Medly,” however, and that track is going to get lots of spins.

One aspect of AOTY’s sound I really like are the “interludes” between tracks, i.e. how Black Milk changes the beat up and lets it ride out during transitions between one track and the next. It reminds me of what Questlove & Dilla did on Common’s Like Water For Chocolate. I often think that adds to an albums overall progression, and adds a little something extra musically.

Lyrically, Black Milk is, as he’s always been for me, hard to pin down. He doesn’t have the punchlines of Elzhi, nor is is his flow Phonte [formerly] of Little Brother or Blu. But he’s got something few emcees do: he’s a producer, and it sounds like either he makes beats to suit his flow, or he tailors his flow to enrich the beat. Like Dilla and T3, Black Milk has a flow that sticks and moves, and even without the hard punchlines, he sounds good. This isn’t to say he doesn’t have some good lines. However, Black Milk rhymes like a producer: with the overall sound paramount, and demonstrating care in making sure his delivery fits with the beat (rather than a battle emcee who’s always on the attack, e.g. Guilty Simpson). One listen to “Gospel Psychadelic Rock” and you’ll hear what I mean. Black Milk shows some lyrical growth on “Distortion;” not solely because of the material/topic, but because he does so without sounding corny, speaking on the medical condition of his manager & the death of Baatin. I always respect when artists are introspective/personable, but it’s not always easy to pull off, especially in the midst of an album that is sonically akin to a thunderstorm. There isn’t much going wrong on “Distortion”: banging drums, grounded baseline, and mood-exuding guitar.

“Gospel Psychedelic Rock” is an incredibly dope track: the perfect compromise between straight hip-hop and a cornucopia of sounds; the track utilizes drums, guitar, insane baseline, scratches, samples, and a great hook, “Better watch out here we come, here we go.” Black Milk can be heard in the background saying something to the effect of “yeah, we destroy shit,” and that’s pretty much what he does on this track. Beat is crazy (and gets doper as I ruminate about it). Classic Black Milk. This track and “Keep Going” are exactly why I love Black Milk.

“Closing Chapter” serves as a proper ending to any album of the year. Topically, Black Milk explores his influences and sources of inspiration/strength over a guitar riff and, consistent with the rest of the album, great drums. Like “Gospel Psychedelic Rock,” Black Milk’s flow is perfect for the beat. The only thing “Closing Chapter” is missing is Common’s Pop (yeah, of Pop’s Rap fame) extolling some knowledge as the beat simplifies and fades.

So, does Black Milk have the album of the year? At the very least, he does have the album of his year. On the production side, this album is nearly flawless. I would be hard pressed to enumerate anything more I would have wanted sonically. Album of the Year seems to need some lyrical power to put it over the top, however. I can only imagine what this would have sounded like with Blu, (more) Elzhi, or Pharoahe Monch on it. Or, alternatively, what it would have sounded like with only Black Milk. A handful of thin parts of the ice, namely Danny Brown and “Oh Girl,” which I could do without, while weak, do little to damage the full scope of the album.

This is an excellent effort by Black Milk, props to Pete for picking it… I write here to offer a few of my initial thoughts after the first couple listens.

In general:

Lots of guitars, power keys, and multi-part harmony hooks give the album that psychedelic hip-rock feel. Other than one track with Mr. Porter on a hook, the collabs detract from the album.  It has a tremendous upbeat pace, while maintaining a mellow mood. Live instrumentation adds a soulfulness to most of the tracks, as many of them strip down to their component instrumental parts in extended interludes at the end of several tracks.

High points:

“Distortion” The beat is one of the toughest on an album full of bangers, and Black is at once hype and introspective in recounting the passing of close friend Baatin.

“Closed Chapter (Feat. Mr. Porter)” That high-pitched, short guitar hook gives this track a sentimental feel as Black muses about his motivations in life and work.

Disappointments:

“Deadly Medley (Feat. Royce 5’9″ & Elzhi)” I was expecting a lot more here. The beat is ridiculously great, and with three of Detroit’s best emcees on one track, I expected this to be a highlight–that was not so. Royce uses this stutter flow that just sounds off-beat to me, and no killer punchlines; and Elzhi’s voice doesn’t sound like him at all.

“Over Again” I’m so-so on this track. I like everything about it except the hook. I’m not crazy about Monica Blaire’s voice, but I’m still getting to know her material, which you can find collected at her MySpace page.

Yessir, we’re back it. Trading Tapes is back. For the next two weeks we’ll be trading notes and insights into Black Milk’s latest LP, “Album of the Year.”

As we speak, the album is downloading off of Amazon, but you obviously can also get it at iTunes .

Just to get the critical juices flowing, I’ll throw out the Pitchfork review, which gave the album a 7.5:

Between his solo release Tronic, Fat Ray teamup The Set Up, and his production work on Elzhi’s The Preface, Black Milk’s 2008 made him look invincible. And you might note the potential tongue-in-cheek hubris in calling his follow-up Album of the Year and assume that he feels untouchable now. But the self-congratulatory name of his new release is deceptive. The year in question isn’t the 2010 that the drop date places its contention in, though anyone who loved Tronic or hard-bumping, densely expressive hip hop in general wouldn’t be off base in considering it as a candidate. The title is actually more closely connected to a different year: 2009, when Black Milk lost his close friend, Village’s Baatin, and saw his manager HexMurda go through a life-threatening experience after a stroke left him comatose.

B) In reviewing past posts, I realized that Kyle and I dedicated a lot of space to Guilty’s Ode to the Ghetto; a disproportionate amount for such a mediocre album. (That was over a year ago!)

Believe it or not, Trading Tapes may in fact see a renaissance. Getting back to posting has required me to consider the reasons I’ve been away from it. Sure, time is always a viable excuse. It’s true, since school resumed (you’ll note my last post was 09/01/08, two days before classes started) my time outside of school has been slightly altered. For one, I thought that after applying some significant time on computer/paperwork (depending on the day), I naturally moved away from doing a similar exercise at home. Similarly, as my music posting decreased, so did my music blog viewing. There has also been a decrease in music listening. This I can’t explain so easily. While I think there have not been too many quality releases of late, that still doesn’t explain why I was not moved to post when Q-Tip’s Renaissance dropped, or Raphael Saadiq’s The Way I See It, or Plantlife’s Time Traveler, or N*E*R*D’s Seeing Sounds, or one of my favorite 2008 releases, Johnson & Jonson’s Johnson & Jonson; I could go on. The point is, there were a number of releases in the latter part of 2008 that should have moved me to post. They didn’t.

So, I guess there is no easy diagnosis, and no predictable prognosis for Trading Tapes. I am going to make an effort to listen to more music, e.g. less NPR and more music en route to work. I think that may have the best impact of bringing me back.

We’ll see.

Allegedly, Q-Tip’s Renaissance will finally see a legitimate release November 14. This, I’m sure will be updated again.

Black Milk’s Tronic. Has a slew of interesting guests, including Pharoah. Him on Black Milk beats is tough to beat.

And, while perusing the net, I came across this blog, which features a prominent disclaimer in the upper right corner (directly below the blog’s description). Check it out. Hilarious.

Finally, while I’ve been virtually nonexistent on the interweb this summer, I’ve been continually entertained, and informed, by Von Pea’s blog. I particularly enjoyed his explanation behind my favorite track off The Bridge, “Get Me Inside.”

As I get ready to go back to school, I’ve been trying to bookend my summer. Bookending always involve playing some dope music. I’ve been revisiting The Nonce’s World Ultimate for the umptheenth time (revisit my revisit), along with Down South’s Lost in Brooklyn (thanks to WTR for reminding me of this), and Dred Scott’s Breakin’ Combs. I put these albums on consecutively, and I have unbelievable beat, after dope beat.

Dred Scott’s funky beats are par for the course for 1994. Heavy with funk and jazz samples (check the beat and tale of the West Coast-sounding “They Don’t Know”). Scott handles all the production on this once-recondite classic (I think it’s more well known now, thanks to the blogosphere). I’m not sure why I didn’t know about this back then. Dred Scott’s beats resplendently parallel the beats of more notorious “Golden Era” producers, namely Pete Rock. And like Pete Rock, his music taste is incredible, and affords Breakin’ Combs with a constant layering of amazing samples. Many of these samples are, I’m sure, more well-known and recognizable now then they were in 1994 (again, thanks to the blogosphere), but I can’t help but think that had I heard this in 1994, I would have most certainly bugged out when listening to tracks like the opener, “Back in the Day,” and the closer, “Frankie’s Groove.” The latter is a jam-session instrumental, heavy on the piano and bass. And yes, Breakin’ Combs is also spotted frequently with all the horns one could want; see the aforementioned “Back in the Day.”

Dred Scott is comparably able on the mic. However, he doesn’t really have the presence or signature sound that many of his more popular contemporaries had, and I surmise that may have been a reason why Breakin’ Combs never found its niche. For example, some tracks have him sounding something like Brand Nubian, in both delivery and subject matter. For example, “Swingin’ From The Tree” has Scott doing his Sadat X as he delves into the many perspectives of black culture; in an indirect way of promoting unity, Dred Scott puts all people in a ship that is sinking as the differing groups fight to promulgate their way over others’. The story ends with everyone in the ship sinking together, in disunity. “Check The Vibe” is a Tribe Called Quest-sounding, laid-back track, complete with female singer on the chorus; for Tribe it was Vinia Mojica, while Scott employs Adrian Evans, whose debut album, Adriana Evans, Scott would lend lots of production to in 1997.

One of my favorite tracks is “They Don’t Know.” On it, Scott cooly talks of his skills. Of course, some fool in a club is bound to try and break the flow (don’t you hate when that happens?); in this case, it’s a blunted “fool” with “gold on the two front teeth.” After agreeing to a beat challenge, in which Scott puts his gear on the line, they shook hands, Scott “rocked it,” and walked away with “two gold teeth in his pocket.” That’s hip hop.

Breakin’ Combs, like so many albums from its period, plays amazing from front to back. Should you get your hands on this album, you’ll have a good hour of captivating and nostalgic beats, and lyrics that while not too heavy, are captivating and put most contemporary emcees to shame. In light of a what is considered lyrical content these days, Dred Scott shows how lyrics and flow were taken for granted back in the 90′s. This is particularly true when paired with the amazing beats that paint Breakin’ Combs.