27 Sep Black Milk – Album Of The Year | Album Review
There never seemed to be a doubt as to the intentions or expectations of Black Milk’s latest creation once the title was released. Accompanied by the frosty sirens and granite-covered drums of speculative single “How Dare You” weeks before the album was unleashed, Milk was prepared for naysayers and directed a pre-emptive strike with the line:
'Speaks his mind / never been scared to / Album of the Year / critics saying how dare you'.
The song dripped with confidence and it appeared fans would be offered a continuation of the wildly fancied previous album Tronic. The fact that these preconceived notions are slightly off-target presents the unexpected yet refreshing nature of the Detroit native’s production.
In Last Orders at the Spinning Disc: What’s Happened to Record Shops?, a documentary aired on BBC Radio 2 in May this year and presented by record producer Pete Waterman, Sir Richard Branson declared that in his opinion there would be no music stores left by 2020. In his words: “There may be one or two specialist stores that will survive for a few more years. But if you turn the clock forward ten years from now, I’d be surprised if there are any more music stores left.”
Is physical death the only future for (independent) music stores? The latest blow in the retail boat has been Fat Beats closure. Hip Hop's very own crown in vinyl did not escape the predictions on music outlets. Its label and online store endure, but its physical arms, which have held and nurtured for 16 years generations of music lovers and passionate musicians, are folding one final time this month. Fat Beats' NYC and LA branches both closed this month, with goodbye gigs and in-stores organised as a last wave from the coolest regent of Hip Hop distributors.
So what happened? Who is killing the stores? In this exchange, the music lover and the industry cross eyes and look at each other accusingly. Whodunnit?