Video: Black Milk – “Story and Her”

The Detroit Rapper Chases An Unrequited Love In His Latest Video from If There’s A Hell Below

06.16.2015

Critical Praise for Black Milk:

“Black Milk’s solo career represents a constant cycle of adopting and mastering new production styles and then abandoning them before they become crutches.” – Pitchfork

“His samples are elegant, his rhythms challenging and his drum kits tight.” – NPR

“Cross has no need for these extras; in his world of soul-tugging productions and machinegun-as-velvet delivery they are merely distractions. On this realization, and in the moment, it was hard not be floored by the obvious: this is what talent with genuine poise really looks and sounds like.” – Dallas Observer

“Striking an impressive balance between being rehearsed and spontaneous, he proved his chops as a multitalented artist once again.” – Okayplayer

“It feels like Christmas every time Black Milk blesses us with a new record.” – FreeOnSmash

The Video:

While finishing up the second half of his North American dates on his Play Like Hell Tour, critically-acclaimed rapper and producer Black Milk releases the visuals to his If There’s a Hell Below track, “Story and Her.” The video, which illustrates the single about his high school unrequited love, comes after the song was marked as one of the strongest songs on his 2014 solo effort, If There’s a Hell Below, by several publications. In their review for the album, Exclaim! stated, “Black Milk mainly delves deeper into gritty, soulful grooves meshing samples and live instrumentation. This almost seamless synthesis comes to the fore on ‘Story And Her.'” Pitchfork, which gave the album a 7.3/10, wrote that the single is a “sprightly, smooth-jazz Tribe throwback.” Additionally, the publication reviewed the single’s lyrics “as trite and sanctimonious as can be…with a rhyme scheme that snaps into place as if only to tug the verse onward.” Now, the If There’s a Hell Below favorite is accompanied with its proper visuals.

Respected as an accomplished musician with more than a decade of industry experience and a rich catalog of recordings, Black Milk has transitioned from one of hip-hop’s young rising stars to a veteran with a uniquely well-rounded pedigree. Aside from releasing his latest solo album, If There’s A Hell Below in October of last year via his own Computer Ugly label, he has been keeping busy working on collaborations with Bun B, Danny Brown, Black Thought, Robert Glasper, Adrian Younge, Pete Rock, BadBadNotGood, and Blu. Black Milk is currently on his Play Like Hell Tour, featuring his live band Nat Turner (keyboardist/vocalist Aaron “Ab” Abernathy, bassist Malik Hunter and drummer Z Horton). The tour has already hit cities on the west coast as well as several cities in Europe. The second half of the North American tour, which begins on June 16th in Washington DC, will conclude on July 4th in Kansas City before heading back to Europe for the last four shows of the tour. The Detroit rapper celebrated the beginning of his tour in March by releasing the first single since If There’s A Hell Below dropped last October with “I Guess,” a lyrical onslaught with multi-layered samples with oscillating percussion.

Watch “Story And Her”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhKARyhV8a8

Stream and purchase digital and physical versions of If There’s A Hell Below: https://blackmilk.bandcamp.com/album/if-theres-a-hell-below

Purchase the album on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/if-theres-a-hell-below/id917026740

Black Milk “Play Like Hell Tour” with live band Nat Turner

Tickets: blackmilk.biz/tours

Jun 16 – Washington, DC at DC9
Jun 17 – Philadelphia, PA at Johnny Brenda’s
Jun 18 – New York, NY at The Studio at Webster Hall
Jun 20 – Detroit, MI at TBA
Jun 21 – Chicago, IL at Subterranean
Jun 22 – Minneapolis, MN at 7th St Entry
Jun 25 – Calgary, Canada at Sled Island Festival
Jun 27 – Vancouver, Canada at Fortune Sound Club
Jun 28 – Seattle, WA at Nectar Lounge
June 29 – Missoula, MT at Palace Lounge
June 30 – Bozeman, MT at Zebra Lounge
July 3 – Lincoln, NE at Vega
July 4 – Kansas City, Mo at Riot Room
July 10 – Paris, France at La Maroquinerie
July 12 -London, UK at The Jazz Cafe
July 15 – Dour, Belgium at Dour Festival 2015
July 17 – Jena, Germany at Kulturarena

Please contact Michelle or Rory if interested in talking with Black Milk.

Black Milk Background:

As one of the most celebrated producers and rappers of his generation of hip-hop artists, Black Milk has conditioned fans and critics to expect the unexpected with each release. Few producers have earned the notoriety and respect he has as a musician, and when that is coupled with commanding talent as an emcee, it’s no surprise that his solo releases are met with exalted anticipation. His new full-length album, If There’s A Hell Below, continues Black’s trend of releasing material that maintains his signature sound while pushing it into new territory. With more than a decade of industry experience and a rich catalog of recordings, Black Milk has transitioned from one of hip-hop’s young rising stars to a veteran with a uniquely well-rounded pedigree.

After scoring his first production credit for Slum Village as a teenager in 2002, he eventually worked closely with the group and co-produced much of their two following albums. His self-released, full-length project Sound of the City (2005) led to his first record deal, and he began to gain international attention for the soul-sample driven style on his proper solo debut Popular Demand (2007). With five solo rap albums (Popular Demand, Tronic, Album of the Year, No Poison No Paradise and Glitches In The Break), an instrumental album (Synth or Soul), numerous collaboration albums (Caltroit with Bishop Lamont, The Set Up with Fat Ray, Black and Brown with Danny Brown, Random Axe with Sean Price and Guilty Simpson and Burning Stones with Mel), and 2 singles with Jack White behind him, Black Milk remains one of hip-hop’s most consistent artists.