Black Milk "Tronic"

Detroit, Michigan has undoubtedly made its mark on hip-hop. The question now remains, will the D stay as permanently crucial to the culture as New York, L.A. and Atlanta? If 25-year-old rapper/producer Black Milk has anything to do with it, Tronic, the follow-up to last year's Popular Demand, will keep Michigan on the map for years to come.

Black Milk strives to depart from the sexy soul samples and simpler flows to challenge listeners with a more "futuristic" vibe. Well, the future is here, but we've heard it before. The finest aspect of Tronic is not in Black Milk laying claim to the future of hip-hop, but his ease in merging funk, soul and rock, both live and synthesized, without diluting the power of their elements. And producers take note -- I’m talking to you Kanye West and T-Pain -- it is possible to create a cohesive collection of songs built upon simple and complex synth grooves without using Auto-Tune on any of the lead vocals. Milk, along with the few guest emcees and singers, including Collin Monroe on “Without U,” who evokes D’Angelo and Melanie Rutherford on “Bond 4 Life,” who gives a Chrisette Michele vibe, use their natural voices. Milk utilizes some sound assistance on the production without ever handing over the reins or resorting to gimmicks. Dwele contributes horn arrangements on the opener, “Long Story Short,” while D.J. Premier gives some of the cuts and scratches on “The Matrix.” The result is a sound that never loses focus even through the album’s weaker moments.

The untimely death of super-producer J.Dilla from lupus-related complications and the tragic murder of D12’s Proof have cast a dark shadow on the area’s bright potential. The long hiatus of Michigan's most prominent son, Eminem, has also left hip-hop heads wondering what’s next. Black Milk makes it apparent that he wishes to fill any void left by his contemporaries, with a newer, more experimental sound -- at least for him. He's definitely a student of the game led by Dilla, most strongly on "Tronic Summer," a brief piano synth and drum-based instrumental where the only words are Milk's voicing of "yeah" and "feels good."
Tronic’s true highlight is “Give The Drummer Sum,” with gorgeous hi-hats and snares that would make ?uestlove proud. The trumpet gets sum too in this artfully arranged track. The drummer gets sum more on “Losing Out” where he also quips how Detroit is the “most underestimated plus underrated city in this game,” where they hope to reemerge “like Berry Gordy came back.” The track ends with a tight snare solo reminiscent of The Roots Grammy-winning “You Got Me.” Lyrically, the most commanding offering is “The Matrix,” featuring potent rhymes courtesy of Pharoahe Monch and Sean Price. Monch spits, “Four-finger ring rap sling-slang, Pharoahe the flow’s good/you couldn’t hang if you was Ving Rhames in Rosewood.” Nothing Milk puts down has quite the same effect. He is still a bit too low-key and basic in his approach to steal the shine from the veterans.

As a rapper, Black Milk is competent, but never dazzling. He is clearly a stronger producer. Even among the most talented, performing the dual tasks of producing and rhyming is what keeps most rapper/producers from ever being truly prolific on the mic. Despite some of the sparse production and forgettable lyrics on a few tracks, Tronic is a quality addition to your music collection -- and a worthy representation of the D.