One of the D’s brightest upcoming stars, Black Milk recently blew into Toronto with a chip on his shoulder as he came to prove that the Detroit scene can no longer be slept on.
The show opened with a short set by local DJ Tactics and emcee Daetona who warmed up the sparse crowd with a lively set. House Shoes came on next and spun a solid set of classics and as The Revival began to fill in nicely as one of the D’s most underrated lyricists, Elzhi took the stage.
The Slum Village member and underground favorite bounded out with energy to spare and immediately began tearing through his vast body of work. Elzhi amped the crowd with his showmanship and tight lyrics as he touched on cuts from his latest release The Preface to Slum Village’s classic Fantastic Vol.2.
After Elzhi’s performance, Black Milk sauntered on. Dressed in the Canadian tuxedo, a red lumberjack, the man born Curtis Cross launched into “Long Live The Story” the opening cut off his latest album Tronic.
Milk had those inside the cramped club bopping their heads and bouncing to his varied set list which pulled mostly from his latest Tronic as well as 2007’s Popular Demand. He kept the stage banter to a minimum, only commenting on the lack of estrogen in the building and asked for the Toronto massive to show their love for Dilla. The heat reached the boiling point near the end of his set when Milk performed one of his biggest tunes, “Sound The Alarm”. The only thing missing was Guilty Simpson live in person to body his verse.
If Black Milk continues to put out quality albums coupled with strong live performances, such as the one Toronto recently witnessed, then the sky truly is the limit for this twenty five year old producer / rapper. This performance proved that if you’re sleeping on Detroit, then consider this your wake-up call.