It‘s been a good year for Midwest hip-hop, and a better year for Detroit beatsmith Black Milk. He follows his recent contributions to eLZhi’s The Preface with his third full-length, Tronic. While Tronic still possesses that signature Motor City sound, Milk adopts more live instrumentation and even steps up his rhyme game. Tronic may not leave listeners with a long list of quotables, but Black Milk proves he‘s more than just a producer, holding his own alongside heavyweights Pharoahe Monch, Royce Da 5’9″, and Sean Price on “The Matrix.” Lyrically, he displays a boastful swagger, but his best work is behind the board, crafting pieces that range from futuristic to orchestral and push himself–and the genre–forward.