In an era when the drums, horns and bass lines in hip-hop music are usually generated by computers and sampled from classic funk and R&B records, one of Detroit’s most globally-recognized MCs and producers is going unplugged.
Leaving his studio-produced music behind, Black Milk will be accompanied by Will Sessions, a nine-piece funk, jazz and hip-hop band onstage Friday at the Magic Stick.
Milk, born Curtis Cross, 25, says his goal is to bring the full unplugged or the complete hip-hop band accompaniment experience to the area.
“I haven’t seen a rapper, (an) MC out of Detroit do that,” he says.
In addition to playing Milk’s raw, street-driven soul and rap, Will Sessions will also perform the music of other artists that Milk has sampled — ranging from Motown music to soft rock from the ’80s.
The event is part of the Funk Night series, which works to keep funk music alive in the city.
Milk joins Slum Village and Monica Blaire as Detroit artists who have recorded and played with Will Sessions. Two members of the group, Darou and AB, a drummer and keyboardist respectively, are also joining Milk for a performance in Moscow this summer.
How did the idea for Black Milk and Will Sessions hip-hop/funk night come about?
Actually it was an idea from Sam (Beaubien) from Will Sessions. It’s always live to perform in front of the hometown crowd and I try to make it more than a show. I want to make it an event. We were talking and we said it would be hot to do a live show together.
You have performed for crowds throughout Europe and you are going back there this summer. How is hip-hop viewed abroad as compared with home?
They have an appreciation of hip-hop more than what we do here in the States. The big cities in Europe, like London, always get hip-hop, but when you go to the surrounding cities, the intensity is insane. There’s a lot of intense love going on over there.
While you are received well by hip-hop music fans here and abroad, do you feel disheartened that your music is not in
regular rotation on the major hip-hop and R&B stations in Detroit?
I’ve moved on from trying to get music played on the radio. … I would love to get played on the radio here, but I’m not pressed. There are so many other ways to get to the people. Satellite radio has just as many listeners (as broadcast radio). There are hip-hop Web sites and blogs. There are so many ways to get to the people. Just as long as they find out about you — that’s all that matters.
Eminem will release his new album, “Relapse,” on Tuesday. How do you feel about Eminem as an artist and what he means for Detroit?
Eminem is such a superstar; like Michael Jackson, everyone knows who he is. Eminem always seems to rep Detroit in his songs. Everyone knows he is from Detroit.
When do you plan to release a new album?
Right now, I’m recording as much as I can and producing. Me, (Detroit native) Guilty Simpson, and Sean Price (Ruck of Heltah Skeltah) are working on our album “Random Acts.” We hope to release it in the fall or winter.
