Consider this the second installment of my continued fascination with Black Milk pulling off the increasingly impossible feat of prematurely declaring glory over the year 2010. In this edition, we commend the release date adjustment, put a microscope to “Welcome (Gotta Go)” and ponder why “How Dare You” did not make the cut.
With the release date pushed back to September 14 – Jesus Walks! September 14? That's Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music day, in which he bludgeons his friends' album sales – the tension surrounding Album Of The Year continues to strain my curiosity. Getting the fugg out of July was a wise move with Big Boi putting the au contraire to naysayers in the streets and the labels, Rick Ross' Teflon Don gaining steam, Curren$y's Pilot Talk seeing the light of day (Did anyone see it in the store today? Is it real?) and Paul Wall tugging on the South's heart strings, it's going to be crowded on the new release wall – assuming people still patron record stores.
“Keep Going” was lackluster, but an Album Of The Year candidate, even a classic, is allowed its minor flaws. The live percussion was crowded and spastic, Black Milk was doing his “Detroit thing” by saying nothing of importance and the tornado alert sirens have never been pleasing to the ear. Based on “Welcome (Gotta Go)”'s textual similarity to “Keep Going,” I lowered my expectations, writing off the beginning of the album as potentially innocuous. Thankfully, Black Milk gives us a reason to start believing in AOTY again. The vibes on “Welcome (Gotta Go)” will feel simplistic, but with repeated listens the textural intricacies unfold. The thump, thump, hand clap foundation is pedestrian, but Milk expands the terrain by burying dramatic choir vocals under a heavy fuzz bass and jittery tin pan hi-hats.
Milk also put “How Dare You” on his Bandcamp, which will not be on AOTY. Ok, Milk I am baffled how you can state “the beats make you feel like the drums is boulders,” back that shit up with actual “beware of falling rocks” drum work and cut “How Dare You” from the record. I can only look to the song title to express how I feel regarding its exclusion, especially with that piano outro – you're wrong, Black.
