5/10
Favorite Track: "Know My Rights (feat. Lil Baby) Least Favorite Track: "Outside"
Atlanta rapper/singer 6lack has carved out quite the niche for himself since the release of his absolutely incredible 2016 release, Free 6lack, which I think had some of the most interesting and fresh ideas I had heard at the time. The songs on that record went one of two ways; either it was one of the most intoxicating and dark songs you would hear from any mainstream rap, or it was the deepest melancholy you could possibly imagine in an R&B song. Either way, it was inviting and addictive, bringing you back again and again to a collection of songs that seemed to have a bottomless pit of emotion. Since Free 6lack, we saw the release of East Atlanta Love Letter, which unfortunately traded in most of the things that were interesting about his previous project for more mainstream R&B tropes and a few recognizable guest features. In contrast, 6lack’s newest project 6pc Hot EP is a record that shows a bit of a mix of the two previous projects.
There are some very slow R&B cuts here that feel like something off EALL, but a few tracks showing a more rap-oriented 6lack as well. This plays to the record's strengths and its weaknesses, with the songs that sound like EALL being significantly more boring instrumentally. While the songs that I don’t enjoy nearly as much on 6pc Hot do show some interesting lyricism, like on the closer cut “Outside”, the overly sleepy instrumentals are hard to make up for. With that being said, every song apart from the last 2 tracks are at least enjoyable, if not exceptional. The rapping on the track “Know My Rights” from 6lack isn’t the most technically proficient I have ever heard from him, but I’ll be damned if the verse and the hook aren’t incredibly catchy. The Lil Baby feature on this song is also worth mentioning, he yet again drops a verse that flows incredibly well and distances himself from the auto-croon sound that he is so well known for. I enjoy the opener “ATL Freestyle” as well, the hook on this song is very catchy and 6lack finds a clean middle ground between his two distinct sounds that flows very nicely, and works well in the context of an opener.
6pc Hot EP definitely is not anything special, and I personally think a lot can be improved upon by 6lack, but a lot of that is due to my bias against his EALL sound. Despite a few duds in the tracklist, this is an airtight, eighteen minute EP that has a good amount to say and offers up a few songs that are catchy and have quite a lot of replay value. With some more interesting production on his next record, I think 6lack could easily come up with a project as catchy and well-rounded as his first effort. Until then, this EP will easily satisfy fans of either of his previous sounds.