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Live Review: Black Milk – November 12 2010, Vancouver, B.C.

November 18th, 2010 Filed under: Reviews - Live by Editor in Chief

Live Review – Black Milk
Friday, November 12, 2010
Fortune Sound Lounge, Vancouver, B.C.

As the inheritor of the throne from the late great J Dilla, Black Milk has consistently lived up to his reputation as one of the top producers in Hip Hop today, and with the release of “Album of the Year”, he solidified his status as a more than capable lyricist as well, with a nimble and percussive flow that outfoxes many of the leading MC’s currently holding the mic. With the addition of live instruments into the mix, Black Milk’s sonic palate has expanded to fully encompass the gritty glamour of his hometown Detroit and its Motown roots.

As a teaser to the main event the next night at W2, Black Milk gave a brilliant warm up performance at the always comfortable Fortune Sound Lounge, tearing the roof off a crowd already primed on vintage Boom Bap and cheap Pabst. With the drumming skills of Daru Jones holding down the fort, as well as live turntables and keys, Milk tore through a 45 minute set of mostly new material, with the requisite D-Funk of “So Gone” off of “Popular Demand”, and tracks from the still recent “Tronic” release.

At the young age of 27 he is already five albums deep. As the rollercoaster breakbeat of “Welcome (Gotta Go)” ripped through the chests of the front rows, heads and honeys went wild as Milk spat his lyrics like a seasoned vet. As a live MC, his vocal skills are comparable to an American Dizzee Rascal, and the unschooled would probably not realize that beatmaking was his first element, as was also the case with Dizzee.

As a renowned master of the MPC-2000, Black Milk has produced classic beats for Slum Village, Royce Da 5’9″, and other Detroit greats, and with the addition of live instrumentation, he has fleshed out his concept into a force to be reckoned with. Whereas on previous albums his wordplay has been competent, but often complementary to the other MC’s, life experiences and age have made Black Milk into a seriously dope rapper.

The fact that a mere 45 minute set was enough to impress, can only mean that his skills are continually growing with his mission, and that the mantle has been passed to a worthy bearer.

By Dave “Corvid” McCallum

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