6LACK has had quite the story of a glow-up since his rough moments in 2011. Early into his music career he signed with FloRida, where for five years he was placed on the shelf. The man went years without being paid a single dime for shows and as a result was living outside the studio. Once he released from the deal, his career skyrocketed. He dropped “PRBLMS” along with his debut album FREE 6LACK, which got him a Grammy nomination and the album going gold.
While I love how far he has come in the music industry, it’s a mixed feeling with the product. I think as a songwriter, he has a way with words. Yet, I never feel like he truly captures that emotion despite his talent as a singer.
I always walk away with tracks I like on the albums he’s released, I can never confidently say he put out great work. 6LACK changes all that with this EP.
The EP begins with “ATL Freestyle”, a soft-trap freestyle on the beginnings of his youth representing Atlanta and his connections to it. It starts off with a little solo-guitar ballad before serenading on his successes and growing eating hot wings and bumping Gucci through the city. 6LACK details a day in the life, and why he worked so hard to get to this position. He always knew the sound he was going for would work, “I was rappin’ like a bitch singin’ to your girl / Might be quiet, baby, but I’m ready to rock your world.”
6LACK – 6 PC Hot EP is out now: https://lvrn.lnk.to/6pcHot/ Directed by JMP @ualreadyknowJMP DP – Mike Koziel Producer – Jiorgi Miller 1st AC – Bruna Valor 2…
“Long Nights” has 6LACK admiring this relationship he is currently in. He wants there to be that same good chemistry that is currently happening now. His soft-spoken voice gives off his innocence, despite bars proclaiming his issues; “I know that I’m a problem, I know that I’m something you should ponder/ Go on, just sponsor the monster.” The background vocals of the heavenly Ari Lennox help this track reach it’s potential. “Float” basically becomes the extension of his easiness with his voice, but on the opposite coin. It almost seems like someone pressed the fast-forward button on 6LACK and you’re seeing how the current day is upsetting him. Whether it is his woman taking him for granted or terrors of the outside world, the Atlanta singer is just trying to stay afloat.
Then it almost felt like 6LACK had a wake-up moment, got on the phone with Lil Baby and let me flex a bit. “Know My Rights” is essentially tailor-made for Baby to go-off as he has done all 2020. However, that wasn’t going to happen without letting the listener hear the moments of greatness 6LACK has achieved. “I just got off the plane from Ghana/ And my airport clothes, they Prada/ I work harder than all the rest/ And I’m wishin’ you all the best/ I got bags from all the stress/ Now, all my bags belong on jets, yes.” But as usual, Lil Baby took over the track with his killer mentality flow and declaring himself as top-five. Check the numbers.
The last two tracks deal with the most emotion I’ve heard from 6LACK in sometime. “Elephant in the Room” has the most dynamic production on the EP, thanks in large-part to Timbaland. The straight-forward nature to this woman about who he would choose between his career and her is stunning. I imagine the woman’s frustration when says “You asking me if I’m choosing my dreams over you, I say ‘Hell Yeah’.” The piano-ballad outro that is “Outside” is this mushy, love song about waiting for the moment to go be with his lover in the outside-world. The old-school sound of it gives it this authenticity that ties into the modern-world of COVID-19 taking over people’s life.
A lot of EP’s have been good-to-great this year, and 6pc Hot EP is among the great category. 6LACK has always spoken his emotions in poetic ways, but this feels like his first project of being able to channel in his inner thoughts in a consistently emotional way (albeit being six songs). He showed off his talents in the best way possible. 6LACK gave us a little 6-piece, extra crispy and spicy.