Since I Have A Lover, 6LACK’s third studio album and his first full-length effort since 2018, falls into a newer category of post-2020 LPs. Marking an era beyond the period where artists maneuvered album releases and promotion mid-pandemic, albums like Since I Have A Lover are explicitly inspired by the pandemic and the introspection of those years, but their release came several months after the pandemic’s Stateside peak. It’s also 2023, and everybody raps and everybody sings. Enter 6LACK. The three-time Grammy-nominated rapper, singer, and songwriter, has spent the years between 2018’s East Atlanta Love Letter and his latest effort continuing to build his bruised playboy image as both a featured and lead artist. From his guest appearance on Lil Tjay’s “Calling My Phone” to his own 6pc Hot EP, 6LACK perfected his style of murky soundscapes, revelatory lyrics, and somber self-pity and self-sabotage that perpetually threaten to stunt his emotional maturation. With Since I Have A Lover, 6LACK, for the first time in his musical career, begins to traverse greener pastures. Robust live instrumentation, unflinching self-reflection, and a lighter, breezier sound help 6LACK’s newest record become a worthy addition to his catalog — despite its overwhelming nineteen-song tracklist.

“Cold Feet,” a collage of voice notes from his daughter, snippets of fans begging for new music, and a single scene-setting verse, open Since I Have A Lover. The intimacy of the album’s opener echoes across the record. With minimal features and largely unfussy arrangements, Since I Have A Lover continues the brooding solitude that characterizes much of 6LACK’s discography. “Inwood Hill Park” incorporates elements of boom-bap for a stream-of-consciousness wrap-up of the years between 6LACK’s second and third LPs, and lead single “Since I Have A Lover” teases a lighter West Coast-inspired sound that encompasses the heart-fluttering whimsy of internalizing a healthy relationship. “Since I have a lover, no more lonely nights / The type of love that you supply, can't televise,” he croons.

6LACK’s increased use of live instruments helps convey the warmth and levity of his new love in ways that digitized beats cannot. Take the loungy piano in the background of the “Ex-Factor”-interpolating “Fatal Attraction,” the pensive guitar on QUIN collaboration “Wunna Dem,” or the subtly funky bass guitar on “Preach,” for example. The energy of these live instruments helps the songs on Since I Have A Lover carry the weight of lyrics that either mark new thematic territory of the “Prblms” singer,” or add unique nuances to his explorations of familiar subjects like sex and vices. “Figured that I could learn a lot on my own / So I ran from your love / Young and naive, I saw some devilish things / 'Til I ran out of love,” he sings at the onset of “Chasing Feeling.” The live instruments don’t replace the moody trap&B of 6LACK’s previous projects, they just add new pockets of color to his ever-evolving soundscape. The muted 808s on mid-album standout “Tit For Tat” coalesce with the outro’s orchestral strings to transform minuscule relationship drama into the stuff of world-conquering operas. On “Playin House,” hazy synths are juxtaposed against smooth saxophone, providing a gorgeous backdrop for a sample of Yebba’s “One More Smile” in the outro. Elsewhere on the record, particularly “Decatur,” the synths take on a wistful edge that nudges 6LACK closer to emo-afrobeats than the trap balladry of his comfort zone.

Since I Have A Lover tries its best to remain as captivating as its highest highs (“Testify” and “Talkback” among them), but, at just under 20 songs, there’s too much music and not enough variation. Since 6LACK sits at the intersection of rapping and singing, he’s not the most gifted technical vocalist, nor is he the most imaginative emcee. His hat trick is that he can do both well… at the same time. On an album as lengthy as Since I Have A Lover, nineteen straight tracks of the same talk-sing-rap combo gets tedious and monotonous. The album’s sequencing is strong, but not sharp enough to maintain the urgency of the record in the face of less interesting songs like “Spirited Away” or “Talk.” There may still be some fat left to trim, but Since I Have A Lover excels at expanding 6LACK’s sonic and thematic profile. The new record is an admirable step forward from one of the most consistent contemporary R&B artists of the late-2010s.

Key Tracks: “Inwood Hill Park” | “Testify” | “Playin House” | “Tit For Tat” | “Talkback” | “Decatur”

Score: 69