PRESS
URBAN POETS - MCs From Another Dimension - BT003
Music-News.com - June 2006
This is the kind of approach we need more of in UK hip hop; intelligent without being overly clever, socially aware without being pious, confident without being confrontational. With more of an old school "produced" sound that eschews the current trend in glitch-hop in favour of melody and lyrical clarity, Urban Poets have churned out a mini opus that harks back to Michael Franti's Disposable Heroes. The futuristic rhymes and expert scratching lift what could have been just another competent but uninspiring UK hip hop tune to something worth paying attention to.
JST - Click here for review
GIGWISE.com - June 2006
According to the press release, Urban Poets are not tied down by the know stereotypes of British Hip Hop. Which, in layman's terms they don't sound like grime. This is a far more polished, defined and smooth track: the antitesis if you want of the sharp angular delivery and hooks of their peers in the UK scene. 'MC's From Another Dimension' brings up memories of the sublime Deltron 30 30: Both looking outwards instead of inwards for their subject matter, both heavily sampled and scratched to rhythmic perfection. It has the string based hook, but lacks the uplifting energy of it's predecessors.
Chris Saunders - Click here for review
THE BLACK MILK COLLECTIVE - New Road - BT002
losingtoday.com - February 2006
The Black Milk Collective ’New Road’ (Big Teeth). Can’t believe we missed this one so again apologies to all concerned but another CD that’s been skulking for far to long in the unheard pile is this absolute diamond release. With one release already under their collective belts (‘the Competition’) and another due and no doubt already out, doing big business and long since bought up (‘Are dreams really messages?’) the Black Milk Collective are an Essex based group of like minded individuals out to reshape and put a new twist on the hip hop imprint. ‘New Road’ smothers you with it’s ever consuming darkening intensity created over a grimy backdrop of a bleak no future decay ridden inner city society. You won’t find the glorification of guns, gang war or drugs here instead all that’s to offer is the reality bite of life and barely existing it. Doom laced sparsely served droning atmospherics hover as if from out of the ether baring an almost Grim Reaper like edge over the ensuing gritty rap that more than anything has a trace of subdued John Cooper Clarke about it. Certainly worth further investigation.
tohellwith.co.uk - October 2005
upon first reading the phrase 'essex hip-hop' it was a little hard to think beyond the predicted homage to low-grade violence and skanky girls set to sub-standard 2-step, thus pleasing that scary part of all southend souls that tells us life started and ended around the time of shanks and bigfoot. black milk collective ,fortunately, disagree - opting instead for a lolloping, trip-hoppy slide through the (sub)urban jungle, one big social conscience wrapped up in big coats. the obvious debt to mezzanine-era massive attack might deprive ‘new road’ of a little cutting edge, but that’s not to deny its surprising intensity.
Loz - Click here for review
Music-News.com - August 2005
The creative stagnation of contemporary hip-hop, exemplified by the U.S. über-rappers who seem to dominate the scene with their sound-a-like records about breasts and bling is a sorry state of affairs for a musical genre that started out as such a revolutionary force.
However, if you look just below the highly polished chrome sheen of the Neptunes gang or Dre cast-offs, you will find a scene still buzzing with new and fresh ideas. Acts like Saul Williams, the Anticon crew, Sage Francis and the like are breathing life into the comatose body of hip-hop.
The Black Milk Collective are definitely a part of this vibrant underbelly; half old-school revivalists who are trying to remind us all what it USED to be like, half sonic explorers searching for a new route to lead rap down. Latest track, "New Road" is an example of the former – a dark, almost uncomfortable trawl through the back streets of urban psyche and paranoia.
Succinct rhymes of politically tinged angst but with an eye to positive self-empowerment come courtesy of Brave One, graff artist and former New Wave Poet. The man has a deft touch with words and his lyrics are the foundation of an already strong track.
Underpinning the rhymes are various monotone sounds and drone noises which help to add to the palpable sense of tension inherent in the track. Layers of treated beats and samples drift in and out of the mix giving a woozy feel to the whole proceedings, leading up to a cacophony of intertwining tones and digital fuzz by the end. Despite these technological enhancements, the overall effect of the track is of quite an organic, live-sounding record.
The Essex – based project have come up trumps with "New Road" and hopefully is a taster of great things to come. Anyone interested in seeing what modern hip-hop COULD sound like would do well to check out Black Milk. ****
Jay Thornton - Click here for review
GIGWISE.com - August 2005
Dark, moody hip-hop from Essex. Somehow that sentence doesn't quite make sense, does it? Following on from debut 12" 'The Competition', The Black Milk Collective have ditched catchy, bouncy beats in favour of something much more sinister. Download-only demo/single 'New Road' pits MC Brave One's stream-of-consciousness raps against droning walls of guitar feedback and a trudging live drum beat, and it rocks. In the same vein as Mezzanine-era Massive Attack, a slow but intense track builds layers of sound until the noisy ending. The only thing lacking is that point where you want a dirty phat beat to drop, and instead the track shuffles towards a finale that lacks just that little extra something. Still, it's a solid effort and definitely worth keeping an eye on. If you think it sounds like your bag you can pick the track up on www.karmadownload.com from September 12. ****
Oliver Warwick - Click here for review
THE BLACK MILK COLLECTIVE - The Competition - BT001
LogoMagazine.com - April 2004
For too long, British hip-hop has floundered in the wake of its better-endowed American cousin. The streets here aren’t as mean, the danger isn’t as pronounced, the deprivation less sharply drawn; our reality is the litter from KFC and MacDonalds as related by Mike Skinner. It isn’t that simple of course: Ugly Duckling were creating a peculiarly English brand of hip hop years before Dizzee came along, and they’re bloody Californian; it just took us a few years to catch up. It seems we have now, and are ready to take the lead. The Essex-based Black Milk Collective will be in the vanguard if justice is served, if only because ‘The Competition’ manages to evoke the bone-weary resignation of Sage Francis without a word being spoken, while simultaneously overturning the notion that all hip-hop is underpinned by rhythms so bland they would bore a new-born. On this evidence there is no competition.
Fela Lewis
Blues & Soul Magazine - 24th Feb - 8th March 2004
Straight outta the darkest depths of Essex emerge The Black Milk Collective with their own unique brand of true-school Hip Hop. The crew's first release, 'The Competition' is a striking combination of sweeping strings, stomping drums and a well-known Rakim sample, all of which does a fine job of bolstering the distinctive world view found within the verses on offer. 'The Pretender' is equally individual in both its musical approach and lyrical content. Different doesn't always necessarily mean good...but in this case it does!
Ryan Proctor
UKHH.com
Debut release from a new Essex based label. 'The Competition' slinks along with a dominating but still sublime orchestral string loop. Calm verses are spat across this multi layered but relaxed arrangement to make a well-rounded but slightly understated track. This track needs a rougher texture to fully grab your attention. However, the flipside signals a slightly harder musical approach with 'The Pretender' containing an absolutely killer piano loop – a really infectious head nodding piece of production. The lyrics are again delivered in a calm soothing manner – but this perfectly matches the well-balanced melodious hook to create a cracking track. Overall, a creative first release with two high quality slices of smooth as silk homegrown hiphop.
Smiffy - Click here for review
Music-News.com
Currently, the U.K is awash with quality hip hop and garage acts, many of which are genuinely pushing all kinds of barriers – both musically and culturally. Dizzee Rascal is the most recent to break the commercial mould with his charged garage offerings. Creating a genre defining image born from English city life, the complexity of lyrics, production and so on is such, that you wonder if a lot of the U.S rap mega stars/ U.S hip hop loving public would even get the U.K slant on it all?
The Black Milk Collective is a pleasantly different thing all together. Hailing from Essex, these guys are not as intense or dirty sounding as most of the current U.K crop. MC Scott Irvine (formerly of the New Wave Poets) is very clean and crisp with his vocal delivery and seems to draw on 'Daisy Age’ influences in his style. 'Push it along’ vaguely springs to mind when 'The Pretender’ starts and I wonder if Scott is purposely leaning towards a millennium – 'old school’ lyrical slant? Tight production here as well, along with some subtle beats and cuts makes for this to be a credible debut single.
The Black Milk Collective have bravely offered us a peaceful slice of their raw talents and along with my 3 stars I am going throw in a leather Africa medallion for luck!
Ross Baker - Click here for review
Hip Hop Connection - March 2004 #176
The heart sinks initially when this new Essex crew lean on a tired Rakim sample for the hook of 'The Competition', but once the strings kick in you can forgive pretty much anything. And flip 'The Pretender is more adventurous in sound and subject matter. You might say they can't write hooks, but there's nothing wrong with good old-fashioned scratching.
Andrew Emery
BlazinVibes.com - March 2004
UK hip hop is seeing a resurgence. Not since the late 80’s / early 90’s and the prominence of Mark B & Blade and the London Posse, has there been such a plethora of lyrical Hip Hop talent. Jehst, Task Force, Kalashnekoff and TY are amongst a glut of MC’s that are shaping the face of UK hip hop and helping to establish the scene as a major musical force in the 21st Century.
Black Milk are a new Essex based Hip Hop crew set to make waves from within the UK Hip Hop scene. Their debut 12” release, The Competition / The Pretender, is an impressive debut. “The Competition”, sees MC Brave One, rhyme over a sparse drum beat and simple piano. The rhyming ensures that this is a healthy slice of conscious Hip Hop. More could be done to enhance the singles production with a possible move away from gothic sounding electric organ, it’s an interesting song.
Once again using a sparse drum beat; the B – side, “The Pretender”, is definitely a song that will get the head nodding. It’s laid back style, with its down tempo piano hook, is reminiscent of something you’d hear on a People Under the Stairs or Jurassic 5 release. It has that chilled out feel and complements the rhyming flow of one well.
All together an interesting and entertaining release from the Big Teeth label that bodes well for the future.
7/10 - Tommy T