6pc Hot EP - 6lack: Review
is an Atlanta based R&B and trap artist who has enjoyed a massively successful ride to fame that balances cult like devotion from fans with mainstream success and marquee features. It's been two years since his popular sophomore record East Atlanta Love Letter and after a steady diet of features he has treated fans to this 6 track EP for his birthday.
Review By Lavender:
While I wouldn't necessarily call 6lack's last record critically acclaimed it certainly received more positive attention than some of his moody trap singing contemporaries which included a pretty positive review I gave the record. Going into this EP all I was hoping for was that 6lack could cohesively capture sonic and thematic vibes as effectively as he had on his last album and for the most part he pulls it off.
The EP had two singles dropped in the lead up to its release and I think both are decent. ATL Freestyle is the better of the two and it kicks the EP off. 6lack recounts his origins and as the tracks title would suggest focuses heavily on growing up in Atlanta. In his typical lowkey trap demeanor he raps about the experiences that helped make him and executes a song that could slide in comfortably throughout most of his discography. Float is a pretty interesting track that sees 6lack showing some uncharacteristic vulnerability in a new way as he sings about simply trying to stay afloat. The only problem is that the instrumental is so weak and forgettable that you may as well be listening to an a capella version of the song.
The track that grabbed many peoples attention when the tracklist was revealed in the Lil Baby featuring Know My Rights. The song is one of the murkier ones here with a punchy trap beat and some textured distortion following the delivery of 6lack's confident bars. The Lil Baby feature is pretty average but while it isn't the highlight of the track it is nice to see him just fit in given how many songs I've heard him ruin over the last two years or so. The best song on the EP comes out of nowhere right after this with Elephant In The Room which features a killer instrumental at least in part courtesy of Timbaland. It is by far the hardest hitting as well as the most interesting from a compositional standpoint working through unique phases in a way that continues to please me on consecutive listens.
There are a pair of tracks on the record that didn't do quite as much for me even though I don't really hate either of them. Long Nights is a short trap ballad about love which is basically the very formula 6lack built his name off of. This one definitely doesn't blow me away despite capturing a pretty intoxicating late night vibe I just think this is the worst vocal performance on the album by far. The closing track Outside is half piano ballad and half trap crooner which makes for a decent pairing. The vocal performance is compelling but the instrumental tends to dominate in the more trap inspired sections. Also given how short the song is having the instrumental lulls that come with it makes for kind of a drag.
6pc Hot is another solid outing from 6lack that adds a few new solid tracks to his catalog without any major misses. It suffers from some of the songwriting issues that have always plagued him but his continued ability to capture a vibe like no other in modern R&B with both the sound and lyrics of his music is impressive on its own. I will certainly be looking forward to whatever he does next. 6.5/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
The first thing I notice in this cover is the colors. The contrasting palette makes a nice focus point with the red text and the rest of the image fills the surroundings nicely. The heavy vignette is another way it brings focus to the words. The surroundings of the image is relatively uninteresting and carries no value other then to give context to where you're at when looking at the image. The advisory isn't an eye sore either and the cover isn't overwhelmed by its placement. 6/10
For more R&B check out my review of dvsn's A Muse In Her Feelings here
