Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
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  1. Feb 14, 2011
    70
    When I do fire this album up, there are a lot of sounds I love, and a lot of ideas I truly appreciate. It's just that, when taken as a whole, Album of the Year is certainly more exhausting than it deserves to be.
  2. Jan 11, 2011
    70
    The MC attacks his words diligently with rabid vigor, giving Album the forceful push of someone carrying the weight of loved ones lost.
  3. 70
    The crisp arrangements often overshadow his stiff, stentorian delivery, but he still manages to convey moments of both personal loss--the death of mentor/Slum Village rapper Baatin--and professional triumph.
  4. While there was an unspectacular battle-rap anonymity to his past lyrics, they were at least spit in the service of a strong overall style. Now he's grown a bit, upping the emotional dimension subtly and letting some more specific humanistic details come through, even in the lines that read like average boasts on paper.
  5. There's a stunning balance between fluid variations and deviations that in total feel like improvisation and the strictly confined, loping-in-circles gait of traditional hip-hop-a process which then lends itself to being described as simultaneously dynamic and hypnotic, loose and hard, jam and the jam.
  6. This a major step forward and for the adventurous hip-hop fan, it could very well be appropriately titled.
  7. Album of the Year certainly makes a case for his continual progression into one of the best producers in the hip-hop game. Maybe next time out he'll release the 'Album of the Year', but for now we just have one of the best of 2010.
  8. The end result is that, as far as we know (for now), Album of the Year is Black Milk continuing along at his very best.
  9. Album of the Year stands as one of 2010's most innovative and adventurous albums of any stripe, incorporating traces of African jazz, latin music, psych, metal, and more in its relentless attack. It bangs hard from start to finish, and it's guaranteed to send producers scrambling to rerecord their drums in its wake.
  10. Through soaking in various travails, and pouring them through the microphone, he has truly grabbed us. His beats have almost taken a backseat on this journey but it is worth it just to prove that his story, his journey and his life are much more interesting that a mere drum pattern and a sample.
  11. The Wire
    Dec 22, 2010
    70
    Though he's lacking some in terms of identity and he'll probably never be a technical monster, he benefits from the same instinctive ability to ride a beat's pocket that rapping producer predecessors like Large Professor and, yes, Dilla himself possessed. [Nov. 2010, p. 66]
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Oct 13, 2010
    10
    Album of the Year indeed. Black Milk's beats are always hard and he is only improving on the mic. Proving that Detroit is a powerhouse ofAlbum of the Year indeed. Black Milk's beats are always hard and he is only improving on the mic. Proving that Detroit is a powerhouse of rap, he brings Royce and Elzhi from SV (or formerly of Slum Village) on for Deadly Meadly...this song is absolutely dope. The rest of the album follows suit. Likes-Black Milk's production. His beats have always been great, but this time around he uses much more live instuments...classic. Don't sleep on this Full Review »
  2. Jan 27, 2011
    9
    Black Milk will not feature as one of the greatest MC's of all time but nevertheless his work pushes hip-hop boundaries and provides greatBlack Milk will not feature as one of the greatest MC's of all time but nevertheless his work pushes hip-hop boundaries and provides great inspiration to those bored of mainstream unoriginality. Personally I love his soulful music and am willing to overlook his lack of gravitas on the mic, though his rhyming is fresh and delivered precisely. 'Album of the Year' is not exactly true but I would argue that Black Milk is hip-hop artist of the past few years. He is directly influenced by the sounds of DJ Premier, Pete Rock and Statik Selektah but his hip-hop style is entirely unique. He is not scared to be himself, unpretentious yet aggressive, and there is much the underground can learn from one of this centuries most valid hip-hop musicians. 9/10 89/100 Full Review »