Black Milk & Fat Ray - The Set Up: Album Review
Black Milk & Fat Ray, The Set Up (Fat Beats, 2008)
Black Milk is the kid from Detroit who put out one of last year's better rap albums, Popular Demand. Fat Ray is the guy that holds the bag that has the weed in it when they're at the airport, in case there's any issues with John Q. Law.
FLAWLESS
I'm not sure where the main sample in this one is from. It sounds like it might be from some '60s-era rock record, but who knows. Whatever it is, it's fucking huge. It kinda drowns out the raps - which is good, since neither of these guys is that great a rapper.
LOOKOUT
Like a less commercial take on that late '90s-era Swizz Beatz bounce. Removing umpteen layers of Casio sheen might not actually make this a good idea, but at least it's less teh ghey-sounding. For example, Mariah Carey could never sing over this.
BAD MAN
My bad about the game of spot the influence it seems I invariably end up playing when writing about Black Milk, but come on. This is so obviously his take on a Just Blaze record - like that Rick James joint from Kingdom Come. Also, dig the Carlito's Way reference in the first verse.
TAKE CONTROL
Milk flips the ol' J Dilla cadence a la... maybe something on Champion Sound. The R&B chorus sounds kinda tacked on (compare it to, say, the reggae fellow from "Bad Man"), but I've definitely heard worse.
NOT U
This one cranks almost as if it was a rock record. I was turning it way up in my van the other day. The production on this album in general is like a more aggro take on the production from Popular Demand.
WHEN IT GOES DOWN
This one's main keyboard (or whatever it is) riff reminds me of something Primo might flip. (Which is not to say that this necessarily sounds like a Primo record.) Note the way it seems to repeat at random intervals and drop out completely on occasion. I bet it's especially "interesting" when you're stoned.
GET FOCUS
Phat Kat and Elzhi drop guest raps on this one. The drums hit especially hard, though I'm not sure I'm sold on the weird-sounding sample.
NOTHING TO HIDE
Yet another reason Fat Ray will never be signed to Interscope: "Nigga stop, I'm not your ho. You can't rape me, or have me on stage with my top exposed."
GET UP
This one's labeled a bonus. I'm assuming it was included so that the total runtime would surpass the half an hour mark, lest people feel gypped. Personally, I could give a rat's ass. All rap albums should be this short. It's not like people are paying for them anyway.
UGLY
Fat Ray, who completely litters this album with ridonkulous pop culture references (I've only noted a few here), mentions the early '90s Nickelodeon game show Wild and Crazy Kids on this one. No, really.
OUTRO
An instrumental outro, lest things just ended with "Ugly."
COMMENTS: If these guys were better rappers, this would be a contender for rap album of the year. As it is, it's an easy recommendation. Black Milk is the best young producer in hip-hop these days, and this is him at his absolute grimiest and most uncompromising. In an age of Kanye West and NERD day-glo teh gheyness, this should be required listening in black elementary schools just for its sheer manliness.
BEST TRACKS: "Flawless" "Bad Man" "When It Goes Down"
