Fat Ray & Black Milk – The Set Up

I know that I say this a lot when it comes to rap CDs, but thank you so much for not having ten different skits on your CD. Anyways, “The Set Up” starts off “with “Flawless”, a track that has a very funky backdrop for the current style of rap that issues forth. The stuttering steps that are present during this first track are a little odd, but when the flow speeds up and the style sounds more as if it was coming out free of constraint, the resulting music is much stronger. The instrumentation that is present during “Lookout” is interesting, linking together the industrial sound of a modern city with a more tribal type of percussion.

 This linkage is a great description of the African-American population, being linked to an earlier tradition but being put up (largely) in a decaying, industrial type of world. While the vocal hooks are not too amazing, what is being said by the instrumentation during this track is all that Fat Ray and Black Milk need here. “Bad Man” is the next track, featuring Guilty Simpson and Scorpion (can’t say I’m familiar), and it shows that Fat Ray and Black Milk can have a single-worthy track. The Caribbean sounds that are present from one of the two guest stars on the track really provide a different sound for “The Set Up”, one that will undoubtedly be played all over the air in Detroit and other similar places. “˜Take Control” features Ab, and uses an otherworldly backing beat to further distinguish the rap that’s present on the track.

Where “Bad Man” had rotation painted all over it, the sheer amount of styles and call-outs that Fat Ray and Black Milk include during this track is enough to make this an even bigger hit than “Bad Man” was. “Not U” is one of the few tracks that brings it back to just being Fat Ray and Black Milk, and the track shows that these two do not need guest astars to create a solid track. It is again the speed of the flow that benefits these two the most; when they give themselves time to stop and think, the resulting tracks are weaker. Time is their enemy, both in terms of their flow and what they are talking about. Time should be your enemy, as well; this disc will sell out if you set on it too long. Pick it up for some solid local rap from Detroit.

Top Tracks: Not U, Lookout

Rating: 7.0/10

Fat Ray & Black Milk – The Set Up / 2008 FatBeats / 11 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/fatray7mile /