Detroit artist Black Milk has secured himself the title of one of the most notable rapper/producer combos in this day and age, kicking off his music career back in 2002. His last full album, Fever, was released last year, and debuted as his first full release since 2014's There’s a Hell Below. The album showed Milk dabbling in a lot of different genres, and experimenting with brighter themes as well as darker ones, such as in the track "Laugh Now Cry Later." As he did with his last project, Milk usually explores deeper topics, such as "being woke/fake woke, cultural appropriation, police brutality, and men ignorantly giving their two cents on women’s issues." So it's safe to say that this project will be seeing the same social and philosophical inspections. As a teaser to his upcoming album, DiVE (coming out August 2nd), he's now released his single "If U Say," featuring BJ The Chicago Kid.
The impossibly smooth track sees assistance from BJ in the chorus, with Milk tackling the wordy, half-sung flows. The song seems to be addressing nostalgia, and the thoughts of wanting to "level up," and hearing "you the one" from others, until finally finding success. Milk's vocals drip like honey as he croons about the struggle of the hustle, and losing friends on the way, alongside a softly melodic, slow-tempo beat. At approximately 3 minutes, 36 seconds, the track shifts suddenly and takes on a jazzy instrumental, which sounds almost like it could be elevator or late night jazz club music.
Quotable Lyrics:
I don't own this life that I'm livin' through, nah
Livin' on borrowed time, man it seem like the rent is due, nah
OG always here, watch out for the fake that fold you
All the heroes on the block, never had cape or phone booth
Still fly though, yeah
Still gettin' high though, yeah
The message always was to make it yeah, gettin' money was the motto
Shawty do what I know