Curtis Eugene Cross (born August 14, 1983), better known by his stage name Black Milk, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.

Career

In addition to Slum Village, Black Milk has worked with

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

Elzhi Jason Powers (born May 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Elzhi (stylized as eLZhi), is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is a former member of Slum Village and now records as a solo artist. In his youth, he made numerous visi ...

Phat Kat Ronald Christopher Watts (born August 26, 1971), better known by his stage name Phat Kat, is a rapper from Detroit, Michigan, best known as a favorite collaborator of the late J Dilla. Biography His career began in the mid-1990s as part of 1st ...

Frank-N-Dank Frank N Dank (real names Frank Bush and Derrick Harvey) are an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. They also go by the names Frank Nitt (previously known as Frank Nitty, which is a reference to the 1930s crime boss Frank Nitti) and D ...

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip-hop, East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, which he formed with childhood friends ...

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-American rapper. First having gained recognition for his freestyling abilities, he signed with Universal Records to release his debut studio al ...

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: ...

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name RZA ( ) or the RZA, is an American rapper, record producer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is the '' de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having pro ...

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known as Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He was described by MTV in 2011 as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". After amassing ...

Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, singer, actor and the lead Emcee (hip hop), MC of the hip hop group The Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove in Philadelphia. Regar ...

, T3 and many more throughout his career. In 2004, Black Milk formed B.R. Gunna with Young RJ and Fat Ray. Together they released ''Dirty District: Vol. 2'', a follow-up to a compilation released in 2001 by

Slum Village Slum Village is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. The group was formerly composed of the rappers Baatin (1974–2009), T3, and rapper / producer J Dilla (1974–2006). J Dilla left in 2001 to pursue a solo career with MCA Record ...

, to which Black Milk had contributed production. In 2005, he released a solo album, '' Sound of the City, Vol. 1'', signing a record contract with Fat Beats Records in 2006 (Fat Beats is currently distributed by

Koch Entertainment Koch Entertainment was an American record label and a distributor of film, television, and music. It was purchased by Canadian entertainment company ROW Entertainment in 2005. History First years The company began in 1975 as part of Koch Inte ...

, the largest independent distributor in the U.S.). In the fall of 2006, he released an EP, titled ''

Broken Wax ''Broken Wax'' is a 2006 EP by Black Milk, a rapper and hip hop producer from Detroit, Michigan. It features appearances from Mr. Porter of D12, Phat Kat, T3, Elzhi, Fat Ray and Nametag. The instrumental version of the album was included as a bon ...

'', and handled most of the production on T3's ''Olio''

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

. On March 13, 2007, he released his second album, ''

Popular Demand ''Popular Demand'' is the second solo album by Black Milk, a rapper and hip hop producer from Detroit, Michigan. It was released on March 13, 2007, which may be a reference to Detroit's area code, 313. The album features guest appearances from ...

''. Black Milk released an album with Fat Ray entitled ''The Set Up'' on March 4, 2008, and his third official solo release "Tronic" on October 28, 2008. He also handled the majority of production on Elzhi's album ''

The Preface ''The Preface'' is the debut album of rapper eLZhi, released 12 August 2008 on Fat Beats Records. It features many other Detroit's MCs including Royce Da 5'9", Guilty Simpson, Black Milk, Fatt Father, Danny Brown and Phat Kat among others. The al ...

'', released August 12. (He also produced four of the tracks on Elzhi's "The Leftovers Unmixedtape" project, released on December 11, 2009.) On December 25, 2009, Black Milk leaked the first single from his album ''Album of the Year''. The song is called "Keep Going". He also released two more singles named "Welcome (Gotta Go)" and "Deadly Medley" featuring

Royce da 5'9" Ryan Daniel Montgomery (born July 5, 1977), known professionally as Royce da 5'9" (or simply Royce 5'9"), is an American rapper. Best known for his association with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, they became acquainted in 1997 and formed the hi ...

and

. On August 22, 2010, he released the music video for "Deadly Medley", which featured

and

. On September 14, he released ''Album of the Year'' through Fat Beats and

Decon Decon is a New York–based advertising agency and record label. Decon is known for their "Green Week" initiative for NBC Universal, which involved an installation at the 30 Rockefeller Center. Additionally, Decon has produced documentary-style ...

. In March 2011, Black Milk released a 7" single entitled "Brain". The single was the result of a collaboration between Black Milk and his band (AB, Daru Jones and Malik Hunter) and

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

of the White Stripes. A B-side, titled "Royal Mega", was also released. On October 15, 2013, Black Milk released his a new album titled '' No Poison No Paradise'', which included features from Black Thought of The Roots, Mel, Robert Glasper, Dwele, Quelle Chris, Ab and Tone Trezure, as well as additional production from Will Sessions. On March 4, 2014, Black Milk released an entirely self-produced EP titled '' Glitches in the Break''. The project consists of nine previously unreleased tracks and features guest appearances from Guilty Simpson and Fat Ray. A 12" vinyl edition of the EP was made available on Saturday, April 19. On October 28, 2014, Black Milk released his sixth album titled '' If There's a Hell Below'', features guest appearances by Blu, Bun B, Mel, Ab, Pete Rock, Gene Obey, and Random Axe.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

Sound of the City ''Sound of the City: Vol. 1'' is the first solo release by Black Milk, a rapper and hip hop producer from Detroit, Michigan. He had previously released material as part of the hip hop production Hip hop production is the creation of hip h ...

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2007) * '' Tronic'' (2008) * '' Album of the Year'' (2010) * '' No Poison No Paradise'' (2013) * '' If There's a Hell Below'' (2014) * ''

Fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

'' (2018) * ''Everybody Good?'' (2023)

EPs

* ''

'' (2006) * ''

Synth or Soul Curtis Eugene Cross (born August 14, 1983), better known by his stage name Black Milk, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Career In addition to Slum Village, Black Milk has worked with J Dilla, Elzhi, Phat Kat, Frank-N-Dan ...

'' (2013) * ''Glitches in the Break'' (2014) * ''DiVE'' (2019)

Collaborative albums

* ''Dirty District Vol. 2'' (with B.R. Gunna) (2004) * ''Caltroit'' (with

Bishop Lamont Philip Brandon Martin (born October 31, 1978), better known as Bishop Lamont, is an American rapper from Carson, California. He was signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label and released one project under the label, eventually le ...

) (2008) * ''The Set Up'' (with Fat Ray) (2008) * ''

Random Axe ''Random Axe'' is the only studio album from the American hip hop group Random Axe, released June 14, 2011, on Duck Down Music Inc. The group was composed of hip hop producer Black Milk and rappers Guilty Simpson and the late Sean Price. The albu ...

'' (with

Sean Price Sean Duval Price (March 17, 1972August 8, 2015) was an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Boot Camp Clik. He was one half of the duo Heltah Skeltah, performing under the name Ruck, along with partner Rock. Early life and edu ...

and

Guilty Simpson Byron Dwayne "Guilty" Simpson is an American rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan whose recording career spans more than 20 years. He is signed to Stones Throw Records, and is known for being one of the late producer J Dilla's favorite r ...

) (2011) * '' Black & Brown!'' (with

) (2011) * ''Burning Stones'' (with Mel) (2013) * ''The Rebellion Sessions'' (with Nat Turner) (2016) * ''Sunday Outtakes'' (with Nat Turner) (2016) * ''Food from the Gods'' (with Fat Ray) (2025)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Milk 1983 births African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers American hip-hop record producers Living people Songwriters from Michigan Rappers from Detroit Underground rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians American male songwriters