That’s a pretty strong statement.
The late 90’s could be considered as the renaissance of Detroit Hip Hop. A fellow named Eminem was beginning to blow up. Jay Dee already had an impressive resume and had what seemed like a whole army of young hungry emcees spitting over his beats. Proof was making himself known nationwide through the battle/freestyle circuit. Bizarre already had a deal. Slum Village was ready to pick up where A Tribe Called Quest left off and Royce Da 5′9″ was creating a lot of curiosity in the hip hop world as Eminem’s partner in rhyme.
Fast forward one decade, with the exception of Eminem, not one individual named above has gotten their due. Despite the underappreciation of some of the best talent that hip hop has to offer, Detroit has consistently put out some of the best hip hop you could hear in recent years.
But those who were considered the up and coming talent are now the hip hop vets in Detroit (and legends - R.I.P.).
The relative health of a music scene can be measured by the level of creativity that it produces as well as the development of the youth.
Enter Black Milk. A quick listen to Pressure, the free mix cd released by Fat Beats will tell you the future of Detroit Hip Hop is strong.
If you think you’re hearing BM’s name quite a bit lately - its with good reason. Black Milk is a product of the movement that J Dilla was largely responsible for. The same movement thats responsible for Slum Village and Phat Kat. No doubt.
Black Milk first made his mark with the emcee/production duo BR Gunna on the Barak Entertainment label. Now on his own, and at the age of just 23, he has the hip hop world buzzin with anticipation of his debut solo album Popular Demand.
Popular Demand has received critical acclaim in damn near every publication that has been graced with a copy. Its not only the press that buzzin. A few leaks of hot material here and there, along with continued production efforts for the likes of Canibus, Lloyd Banks, Pharoahe Monch and Sean Price (upcoming) have the masses taking notice.
If this newly released video is any indication of the fire being brought by BM, there will be a lot of happy hip hop heads on March 13th.
Black Milk featuring Guilty Simpson (another Detroiter to watch out for) - “Sound the Alarm” (2007, Fat Beats Records)
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Detroit Hip Hop :: Baatin feature at Metro Times | 12-Mar-07 at 11:08 am | Permalink
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