''Free 6lack'' (stylized in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...

) is the debut studio album by American singer

6lack Ricardo Archibald Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American singer and rapper. He initially gained notable recognition following the release of his single, " Prblms ...

. It was released on November 18, 2016, by LVRN and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...

. The album was supported by two singles: "Ex Calling" and "

Prblms "Prblms" (a disemvoweling of "problems" and stylized in all caps) is a single by American singer 6lack. It was released on September 23, 2016, by LoveRenaissance and Interscope Records. The track was produced by NOVA. The song was certified 3× ...

". It was nominated at the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongc ...

for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Release

On November 13, 2017, three additional new songs were added to the album to celebrate the album's anniversary.

Singles

The first single from the album, "Ex Calling", was released on July 25, 2016. The song contains samples of "Perkys Calling" by

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currentl ...

from the mixtape ''

Purple Reign ''Purple Reign'' is the sixteenth mixtape by American rapper Future, hosted and executive-produced by DJ Esco and Metro Boomin. It was released on January 17, 2016 with an 11-hour notice via LiveMixtapes and DatPiff. It is Future's first non-com ...

''. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for "Ex Calling" was released on December 5, 2016. The second single from the album, "

", was released on September 23, 2016. The

for "Problems", featuring 6lack rapping next to a grizzly bear, was released on October 14, 2016.

Commercial performance

''Free 6lack'' debuted at number 68 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 for the chart dated December 10, 2016 and has since peaked at number 34.

Track listing

Album credits were adapted from Tidal. Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies an additional producer * signifies an uncredited producer Sample credits * "Rules" contains samples of "Shadow Knows" performed by Aqua Nebula Oscillator. * "Luving U" contains a sample of Slow Meadow's original composition "Lachrymosia". * "Ex Calling" contains samples of "Perkys Calling" performed by

Personnel

Album credits were adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

and Tidal. Performers *

– primary artist Production * FWDSLXSH – producer * MDS – producer * Alex Leone – producer *

Frank Dukes Adam King Feeney (born September 12, 1983), better known as Ging and by his former stage name Frank Dukes, is a Canadian musician, record producer, and songwriter. A prolific producer, he has worked with artists including Camila Cabello ("Havan ...

– producer * Syk Sense – producer * OZ – producer * Singawd – producer , additional producer * Nova – producer * Jakob Rabitsch – producer * Bizness Boi – producer *

Breyan Isaac Breyan Isaac (born May 24, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist based in Daytona Beach, Florida. He has written, produced, and performed on songs by a number of artists including, David Guetta, Flo Rida, Pitbull, Wiz Kha ...

– producer * Karl Rubin – producer * Roofeeo – producer *

Childish Major Markus Alandrus Randle (born July 4, 1991) known professionally as Childish Major, is an American rapper and record producer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He initially rose to fame as the producer of the 2013 Rocko single, "U.O.E.N.O.", which peake ...

– producer * Take A Daytrip – producer * 6lack – producer * JT Gagarin – producer , additional producer * Southside – producer * DZL – producer *

Dot da Genius Oladipo Omishore, known professionally as Dot da Genius is an American record producer and audio engineer from Brooklyn, New York City. He first gained recognition in 2008 for producing " Day 'n' Nite" by American musician Kid Cudi, with whom ...

– producer * Jon Castelli – producer * Julian Beats – producer * Lucian Blomkamp – producer , additional producer * Stwo – producer Technical * JT Gagarin – recording engineer , mixing engineer * Jon Castelli – mixing engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2016 debut albums Hip hop albums by American artists Albums produced by Frank Dukes Albums produced by Southside (record producer) Albums produced by Dot da Genius Albums produced by Take a Daytrip