Dive

A year after Detroit MC/producer Black Milk released the excellent Fever, his first rap album in four years, he followed up with DiVE, a generous EP that expands on the full-lengths ideas. While Fever was a tense, fired-up album that covered a multitude of relevant issues, from police brutality to institutional failure, DiVE feels like a pause to breathe and reflect. Without dismissing or shaking off these concerns, hes more focused on healing and personal growth here. Save Yourself and Relate (Want 2 Know) deliver their messages of self-motivation over smooth, spacious, calmly paced grooves, while Blame and TYME take inspiration from Detroits house scene, with more outward-glancing lyrics underpinned by skipping kick drums. DiVE Pt. 2, the sequel to a choppy, flute-driven funk instrumental from Fever, switches the mood up considerably, with light guitar and synth parts radiating from the tracks skittering drumnbass breakbeats. While this track feels like a bit of a daydreaming reverie, Dont Say snaps the record back into focus with its hardest beat and most immediate message, taking offense at those who dont speak up against anti-black violence. Only six minutes shorter than Fever, it makes sense that DiVE is billed as an EP instead of a proper album, as it sounds largely cut from the same cloth, yet it feels more substantial than just a collection of outtakes. ~ Paul Simpson

マス・アピール移籍後の1年ぶり2作目は、前作と同様にドラムのダルー・ジョーンズや鍵盤のイアン・フィンクらが紡ぐジャジーな生音を軸にして織り上げた、黒く艶やかなグルーヴに満ちている。BJ・ザ・シカゴ・キッドの浮遊ヴォーカルがソウルネスを醸す"If U say"や、ブラック・ミルク流のデトロイト・ハウスと思しき"Blame"や"Tyme"といった曲など、音楽性の広がりと深まりもさらに上のレヴェルへ到達した。
bounce (C)池谷瑛子