Milo could be a fantastic hip hop case study of what happens when influence goes right. When influence goes wrong, at best, it results in a rather uninteresting revisitation of past ideas, at worst, the product is imitation, or as Rae and Ghost put it "Shark Niggas". Even though Milo is rarely one to be too overt, having joked about this himself on his last record in "@yomilo" ("yo Milo why you always rap in passcodes?"), there are some more than clear hints about what his influences are. Things like the amount of exclamation marks on the cover, a reference to The Roots' Do You Want More?!!!??!, the fact that the album opens up with James Baldwin and the fact that this is his jazziest - Madlib-esque - album yet lets the listener know where Milo is coming from.
The rapper continues with the abstract poetic approach that has definied his career and made So The Flies Don't Come such a great record, however, who told you to think??!!?!?!?! is a very different beast. The album feels much looser - freer. Those who have had the privilege of attending his live shows will recognize that his decision to occasionally briefly enhance or distort his voice using effects, like glitches or echo, is no surprise. If one didn't consider his last album experimental, this, at least in a relative sense, is an "experimental" record. Despite the differences, lyrically, Milo is as sharp as ever, albeit as always, a bit brief at times - inviting repeated listens. There is a certain off-kilter atmosphere to some of the songs here that is reminiscent of left-field hip hop classics like Madvillainly. This is seen specifically in tracks like "idk" - the altered voice that begins the song may remind listeners of some of the odder vocal moments of MF DOOM and Madlib's masterpiece - and "the young man has a point (nurture)". The short, but addictive "the young man has a point (nurture)" features a great, sarcastic P.S.A. of a YOUNGMAN verse ("I regret to inform you of you imminent demise/Men put your phones down, look your women in the eyes"), who opens the song by trading the classic phrase "1,2,3 in the place to be" for "1,2 and the place to do". Milo closes out the track by referencing other wordsmiths such as Jay-Z and Zadie Smith, declaring his success - like them, now his "vocabulary pays [his] rent".
Listeners will likely quickly notice that this album lacks an "An Encyclopedia" - a song that is overtly "political" - a song that blatantly singles out and tackles one socio-political issue in a way that can be caught on this first listen. Although this may be true, "flourishing in the lag time - when suffering was normalized" ("a sorcerer") is clearly Milo, despite the fact that things like the murder of black people by police - on camera - with no consequences have been "normalized", flourishing within the creation of his art. Like every Milo project, his new LP is filled with a myriad of references that are impossible to grasp upon the first listen. The rapper combines economists and classic rap singles ("Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)") in "paging mr. bill nunn" ("I be to rap what Keynes be to Locke") and expresses himself through cartoons on "Landscaping" ("I'm Muriel crying "Eustace" in that building lobby/Oh, and my Courage is such a cowardly dog"). In the second half of "Landscaping" he is joined by Elucid, who ruminates aloud on worth, freedom and love over the track's gorgeous piano samples ("I talk like a man, but that means nothing at all/I'm more than my dick and my wallet but that means nothing at all").
The jazzy guitar licks which come into the first single "magician (suture)", combined with the slow, spoken word portion which opens it, is a great representation of what listeners should expect when heading into this album. This is not Do You Want More?!!!??!, but the jazz influence is strongly present. The genres importance to this record is undeniable, from the MC using Monk's piano to describe emotion ("It's a kind of hopelessness, a loneliness/A color I only ever heard played by a nigga named Thelonious") on "call + form (picture)", to the samples on "pablum // CELESKINGIII" and the track "Ornette's Swan Song", which is likely named after Ornette Coleman. In particular, the jazzy melancholic beauty of "embroidering machine", which even has a brief guitar solo, is an album highlight. On "embroidering machine", the MC seems to be quite introspective, letting his audience know not to completely romanticize his relationship with his art ("would gladly quit if posed with riddle: "pay my rent or rap again") and describing how he "struggle[s] with [his] blues like Eagle "Bones" Falconhawk".
The jazzy guitar licks which come into the first single "magician (suture)", combined with the slow, spoken word portion which opens it, is a great representation of what listeners should expect when heading into this album. This is not Do You Want More?!!!??!, but the jazz influence is strongly present. The genres importance to this record is undeniable, from the MC using Monk's piano to describe emotion ("It's a kind of hopelessness, a loneliness/A color I only ever heard played by a nigga named Thelonious") on "call + form (picture)", to the samples on "pablum // CELESKINGIII" and the track "Ornette's Swan Song", which is likely named after Ornette Coleman. In particular, the jazzy melancholic beauty of "embroidering machine", which even has a brief guitar solo, is an album highlight. On "embroidering machine", the MC seems to be quite introspective, letting his audience know not to completely romanticize his relationship with his art ("would gladly quit if posed with riddle: "pay my rent or rap again") and describing how he "struggle[s] with [his] blues like Eagle "Bones" Falconhawk".
Milo, armed with an esoteric rhyme style that seems just as comfortable in the almost deadpan ("pablum // CELESKINGIII") as in the animated ("magician(suture)") or dream-like ("note to mrs"), never gets close to faltering throughout who told you to think??!!?!?!?!. It's clear that he hails from the school of lyrically complex, extremely clever and at times sarcastic rappers such as MF DOOM and one of his favorite artists, Busdriver, who appears - and shines - on the fantastic "rapper". Despite this, after listening to this project, it is very apparent that Milo is more than just an amalgamation of his influences - he has created his own unique voice. On "call + form (picture)", Milo raps that "freedom is its own kind of salary" and for him, in the literal sense, that statement could not be more true. The creative freedom that he has had in the creation of this album, it being recorded in only 24 hours and released on his own indie-label, Ruby Yatcht, has produced a project that is well worth the price of admission and sure to increase his stock amongst his fans. Three quality LPs and various other EPs and side projects in, it's obvious that Milo is here to stay, who told you to think??!!?!?!?!, is another great addition to his catalogue that may be his best work yet.
