MP3: Black Milk & Nat Turner – “The Rebel”

The Longtime Touring Collaborators Set to Release Their First Studio Album Together, Premiere Non-Album Cut “The Rebel” via The FADER

 03.14.2016

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 Song + Announcement:

Black Milk, one of the most talented and celebrated hip-hop producers and rappers of his generation, returns alongside his band Nat Turner with a live instrumental LP, The Rebellion Sessions, a jazz-funk opus recorded over the span of one week. Announced via The FADER, the album will be released digitally on Computer Ugly Records on April 4th and on vinyl this summer.

Orchestrated and produced by Black Milk, The Rebellion Sessions features Nat Turner (Aaron “Ab” Abernathy on keys and Malik Hunter on bass), as well as Black Milk’s drummer Zebulun “Z” Horton. Although the guys have appeared on Black’s previous works, The Rebellion Sessions is the first project created among the four as a collaborative unit. The album, at times recalling the works of Fela Kuti, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Sly & The Family Stone, D’Angelo, and Robert Glasper, builds off Black Milk and Nat Turner’s incredible live show, honed over the course of years and more than 90 shows played worldwide in 2015 alone during Black Milk’s Play Like Hell Tour.

“This project came together from Nat Turner and I deciding to meet up, lock ourselves in a room for 1 week, and hope that some musical gems could be created in that short amount of time,” explains Black Milk. “For most of the tracks on the album there’s only 3 instruments being played, Z on drums, Malik Hunter on bass and Ab (Aaron Abernathy) on fender rhodes. I knew the less we had to work with the more creative we would have to be. I also kept it stripped down so that when we played live shows, the songs sound exactly how they do on the album. Most of the album is a fusion of jazz + funk orchestrated from a hip hop producers stand point.”

Today, Black Milk lends a verse to an instrumental off the album renamed “The Rebel” (the instrumental album version entitled “4 Blacks”). The track finds Black Milk riding a keyboard-and bass-driven jazz groove, reminiscent of Bob James and Zapp & Roger, delivering passionate, politically charged rhymes: “It’s true the boys in blue looking for who to lynch/the flowers out of the concrete that never grew an inch.” “The Rebel” follows the spontaneous February release of the Sunday Outtakes, three tracks from the sessions that did not end up on the album. Black Milk & Nat Turner will embark on an international tour this summer, performing select tunes from The Rebellion Sessions in addition to songs from Black Milk’s extensive catalog.

Listen to “The Rebel”: https://soundcloud.com/blackmilkofficial/the-rebel

Check out The FADER premiere: http://www.thefader.com/2016/03/14/black-milk-new-instrumental-album-nat-turner-rebellion-sessions

Pre-order The Rebellion Sessions on Bandcamp: https://blackmilk.bandcamp.com/album/the-rebellion-sessions

Pre-order The Rebellion Sessions on iTunes: https://itun.es/us/KVo_ab

Black Milk on tour with Slum Village, Guilty Simpson, Phat Kat

Tickets: blackmilk.biz/tours

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. His first offering of 2016 is a live instrumental LP, The Rebellion Sessions, created in conjunction with the band Nat Turner (Aaron “Ab” Abernathy on keys, Malik Hunter on bass, and Zebulun “Z” Horton on drums). The album is a product of a week-long jam session among the guys. It was recorded in one week and mixed and mastered by Black in another in December of 2015. Although the guys have appeared on Black’s previous works, The Rebellion Sessions is the first project created amongst the four as a collaborative unit. The album builds off Black Milk and Nat Turner’s incredible live show, honed over the course of years and more than 90 shows played worldwide in 2015 alone during Black Milk’s Play Like Hell Tour. This May, the guys will take their new show on the road, kicking off their Rebellion Tour in Europe before hitting the US in June and July.

Links:

official site | twitter | facebook | youtube | soundcloud | bandcamp

“The Rebel”: https://soundcloud.com/blackmilkofficial/the-rebel

CD Baby Artist Session: https://youtu.be/tPtsy2WqZrs

“I Guess”: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-guess/id978921568i=978921569 // https://soundcloud.com/blackmilkofficial/i-guess/

“What It’s Worth”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL5G-Kal7FQ

If There’s A Hell Below: https://blackmilk.bandcamp.com/album/if-theres-a-hell-below

“Scum” ft. Random Axe: https://soundcloud.com/blackmilkofficial/scum-ft-random-axe

“Gold Piece” ft. Bun B: https://soundcloud.com/blackmilkofficial/gold-piece-ft-bun-b/

“Detroit’s New Dance Show”: https://soundcloud.com/blackmilkofficial/detroits-new-dance-show

“What It’s Worth”: https://soundcloud.com/blackmilkofficial/what-its-worth

No Poison No Paradise stream: http://blackmilk.bandcamp.com/

Bio, pictures and streams available here: http://www.audibletreats.com/black-milk