Single
The Black Milk Collective
New Road
Big Teeth (label)
12 September 2005 (released)
16 August 2005
The creative stagnation of contemporary hip-hop, exemplified by the U.S. über-rappers who seem to dominate the scene with their sound-a-like records about breasts and bling is a sorry state of affairs for a musical genre that started out as such a revolutionary force.
However, if you look just below the highly polished chrome sheen of the Neptunes gang or Dre cast-offs, you will find a scene still buzzing with new and fresh ideas. Acts like Saul Williams, the Anticon crew, Sage Francis and the like are breathing life into the comatose body of hip-hop.
The Black Milk Collective are definitely a part of this vibrant underbelly; half old-school revivalists who are trying to remind us all what it USED to be like, half sonic explorers searching for a new route to lead rap down. Latest track, "New Road" is an example of the former – a dark, almost uncomfortable trawl through the back streets of urban psyche and paranoia.
Succinct rhymes of politically tinged angst but with an eye to positive self-empowerment come courtesy of Brave One, graff artist and former New Wave Poet. The man has a deft touch with words and his lyrics are the foundation of an already strong track.
Underpinning the rhymes are various monotone sounds and drone noises which help to add to the palpable sense of tension inherent in the track. Layers of treated beats and samples drift in and out of the mix giving a woozy feel to the whole proceedings, leading up to a cacophony of intertwining tones and digital fuzz by the end. Despite these technological enhancements, the overall effect of the track is of quite an organic, live-sounding record.
The Essex – based project have come up trumps with "New Road" and hopefully is a taster of great things to come. Anyone interested in seeing what modern hip-hop COULD sound like would do well to check out Black Milk.
New Road is released on September 12th through Big Teeth. Logon to www.big-teeth.co.uk to find out more.
However, if you look just below the highly polished chrome sheen of the Neptunes gang or Dre cast-offs, you will find a scene still buzzing with new and fresh ideas. Acts like Saul Williams, the Anticon crew, Sage Francis and the like are breathing life into the comatose body of hip-hop.
The Black Milk Collective are definitely a part of this vibrant underbelly; half old-school revivalists who are trying to remind us all what it USED to be like, half sonic explorers searching for a new route to lead rap down. Latest track, "New Road" is an example of the former – a dark, almost uncomfortable trawl through the back streets of urban psyche and paranoia.
Succinct rhymes of politically tinged angst but with an eye to positive self-empowerment come courtesy of Brave One, graff artist and former New Wave Poet. The man has a deft touch with words and his lyrics are the foundation of an already strong track.
Underpinning the rhymes are various monotone sounds and drone noises which help to add to the palpable sense of tension inherent in the track. Layers of treated beats and samples drift in and out of the mix giving a woozy feel to the whole proceedings, leading up to a cacophony of intertwining tones and digital fuzz by the end. Despite these technological enhancements, the overall effect of the track is of quite an organic, live-sounding record.
The Essex – based project have come up trumps with "New Road" and hopefully is a taster of great things to come. Anyone interested in seeing what modern hip-hop COULD sound like would do well to check out Black Milk.
New Road is released on September 12th through Big Teeth. Logon to www.big-teeth.co.uk to find out more.