AT LAST! 6LACK is 6ack. While it’s been nearly five years since the Atlanta singer-rapper has blessed fans with a full-length project, his third studio album was well worth the wait.
Since I Have A Lover finally arrived on Friday (March 24), touting 19 tracks and two features from Don Toliver and QUIN. Amid a healthy slate of singles prior to its release, early highlights in “Inwood Hill Park,” “preach” and “Temporary” with Toliver display 6LACK’s lighter sonic evolution as an artist.
Dropping its gorgeous title track and video on March 1, the ATL anti-hero explained that SIHAL is a retrospective “note to self” of sorts. The track’s heavenly, plucked strings saunter beneath 6LACK’s fleeting vocals — feeling as though he never left for as long as he had. “You light my fire, you get me high, reach a new height,” he croons on “SIHAL,” evoking feelings over everlasting love despite a foray into a more fleeting soundscape. Known for his brooding brand of love-torn R&B, it’s evident 6LACK sees love through a whole new lens on SIHAL.
“Since I Have A Lover’, the title track, is the highs of having a healthy love, compressed into song format. It’s a note to self, that I’m no longer who I was or where I was, and that there’s a bigger purpose starting to reveal itself in the things I create. We are simply pushing love, because it’s needed. The verses are short and serve as a moment of acknowledgment for how I feel, and the chorus is less of a lyric and more of a feeling. It’s an exhale, it’s relief, it’s trust, it’s happiness, it’s surreal.”
6LACK on his latest single, per release
Sharing the record’s second song “Talkback” on March 10, 6LACK reveals he “just spoke to God on the phone,” skating over the single’s fast-paced percussion and transcending guitar licks. “Me a couple years ago is not me today,” he drawls off on outro. “That should come as no surprise / I need answers, I go God / he talks back,” as “Talkback” wholeheartedly revives 6LACK’s euphoric rap-style melded in melody.
It’s was just one of two cuts he teased that week, opting for No. 1 with the latter released on March 16. “Fatal Attraction” is less pop-oriented, yet sees 6LACK dive back into his dark R&B bag. “Words gotta match the actions / fatal attraction, RIP / For everytime we went through, know it’s all on me,” he softly sings, peppering the minor-key piano ballad with shuffling hats and quick-click snares. 6LACK also added “Rent Free” to the album — a song off his 2021 two-pack — which saw four total tracks lead in SIHAL.
With “6ACK” billboards plastered on the streets of his native Atlanta, he kicked off the rollout by clearing his Instagram last month — only leaving photos of his debut album FREE 6LACK and East Atlanta Love Letter on his feed.
Alongside the now-expired timer on his website, “Mr. Valentine” called on the Atlanta Water Boyz to give out flowers — instead of water — to fellow Atlantans on Valentine’s Day to lead in his return to the mic. This wasn’t 6LACK’s first time advocating for the greater good of the public, partnering with MHALA and BetterHelp in October 2021.
His label, Love Renaissance (LVRN), announced this affectionate campaign alongside the album’s acronym “S.I.H.A.L” — which is inscribed on each of the AWB members’ jackets in the clips below. The community collective is beloved throughout ATL, as 6LACK’s involvement initially shifted focus towards his somber love-inspired record.
Prior to his triumphant 2018 offering, East Atlanta Love Letter, the last we heard from 6LACK was on Kaash Paige’s R&B-rap fusion “Miss My Dawgs” late last year. He also took part in Apple Music’s 2022 Juneteenth celebration with a rendition of Yasiin Bey’s “UMI Says.”
His sophomore LP earned him his highest-charting debut of his career, peaking at a No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200 and selling 78,000 first-week units. In the years following EALL, 6LACK dropped off EPs in 6pc Hot (2020), Rent Free / By Any Means and aided Lil Tjay on their chart-topping hit “Calling My Phone” in 2021.
Always one to work in silence and solitude, 6LACK’s Since I Have A Lover is already shaping up to be his most complete, contemplative effort yet.
This story will be updated.
Listen to “SIHAL” below!
