Someday, the world will pay attention to Black Milk. Pharoahe Monch did. So did Lloyd Banks. The Detroit producer/rapper is quietly assembling a diverse body of quality work ranging from the dustiest of samples to the glitchiest of sine waves. "Sound the Alarm" mostly falls in the category of the former but embraces a bit of the latter. With a drum kit that sounds like its been sitting for years, Black MK lays down a drum beat that forces your involuntary head nod function to kick in. An ascending bassline gives the song a frenetic pace, and the keyboards give it a Detroit flavor. The cold war-siren sample is merely the cherry on top that makes the song scream "banger."
Lyrically, Black Milk rides the beat effortlessly and skillfully. Stuttering in time with hi-hats and bass kicks, he demonstrates lyrical dexterity and the influence of Dilla. But it is Guilty Simpson who steals this song in terms of lyrics. He's not trying to cram 563 syllables in every bar, but he drops punchline after punchline and has a mike presence that I haven't heard from an artist in a while. Why people didn't like his efforts on the Dabrye and Dilla albums from last year still confuses me. He reminds me of a Chuck D type where charisma makes up for a supposed lack of complexity.
The moral of the story is this: Don't sleep on Black Milk. His album, Popular Demand, comes out March 13 on Fat Beats Records.