On his third studio album, Since I Have a Lover, Ricardo Valdez Valentine Jr., better known as 6lack, largely sticks to his tried-and-trued repertoire of songs dedicated to love, relationships, sorrow, and finding happiness in relationship and himself — and he pulls it off, with songs like “Fatal Attraction” and “Stories in Motion” showing off the 30-year old’s growth in the five years since the release of his sophomore LP, East Atlanta Love Letter.
6lack is known for consistency, and this album was no exception. For the most part, he sticks to what he’s always done — easy going percussive instrumentals usually paired with a guitar layer or a soft piano, enough to make most songs complex without taking attention away from the main attraction: his voice — such as on “Fatal Attraction,” an ode drawing comparisons between a toxic relationship and harmful drugs — familiar topics from 6lack’s previous work.
Though the record largely sticks to what we expect from 6lack, there are a few tracks on which we see growth in decent attempts from Valdez Valentine to cross into unknown territory, such as “Since I Have A Lover,” a pop anthem with a dance-able beat and energetic lyrics describing the joy of a relationship that has finally reached a mature point: “Since I have a lover, no more lonely nights … you light my fire, you get me high, reach a new height.”
Valdez Valentine carries the brunt of the album with his easy-delivery vocals, with the few features carefully placed, such as on “Temporary,” where Don Toliver contributes a spacey, loud hook that aptly compliments 6lack’s usual medium-paced delivery. The other listed feature is QUIN on “wunna dem,” a sub-two-minute song that resembles an interlude with strings and enough reverb to make the listener ease into a dream-like state.
In terms of lows and highs, Since I Have A Lover has few tracks that can easily be considered throwaways, and most of them have similarly-above average replay value. “Preach” and “Inwood Hill Park” are examples of songs that won’t be considered masterpieces, but will definitely make appearances on summer playlists, for good reason.
More than anything, 6lack seems to display maturity, if not as an artist, definitely as a person, and as he enters the fourth decade of his life, we’ll see how his maturity and aged wisdom takes him to new boundaries. As he says on the second track, “I’m nothing like I was when I first dropped, ’cause I would hate to do the same things twice.”
The Stumptown Groove 