Free 6lack

2016 studio album by 6lack
Free 6lack
Studio album by
6lack
ReleasedNovember 18, 2016[1]
Recorded2016
Genre
  • Alternative R&B
  • hip hop
  • R&B[2]
Length58:21
Label
  • LVRN
  • Interscope
Producer
  • 6lack
  • Alex Leone
  • Bizness Boi
  • Breyan Isaac
  • Childish Major
  • Dot da Genius
  • DZL
  • Frank Dukes
  • FWDSLXSH
  • Erik Jensen
  • Jakob Rabitsch
  • Jon Castelli
  • JT Gagarin
  • Julian Beats
  • Karl Rubin
  • Lucian Blomkamp
  • OZ
  • MDS
  • Nova
  • Roofeeo
  • Singawd
  • Southside
  • Stwo
  • Syk Sense
  • Take a Daytrip
6lack chronology
Free 6lack
(2016) 		East Atlanta Love Letter
(2018)
Singles from Free 6lack
  1. "Ex Calling"
    Released: July 25, 2016
  2. "Prblms"
    Released: September 23, 2016

Free 6lack is the debut studio album by American singer 6lack.[3] It was released on November 18, 2016, by LVRN and Interscope Records.[3] The album was supported by two singles: "Ex Calling" and "Prblms". It was nominated at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Release

On November 13, 2017, three additional new songs were added to the album to celebrate the album's anniversary.[4]

Singles

The first single from the album, "Ex Calling", was released on July 25, 2016.[5] The song contains samples of "Perkys Calling" by Future from the mixtape Purple Reign. The music video for "Ex Calling" was released on December 5, 2016.[6]

The second single from the album, "Prblms", was released on September 23, 2016.[7] The music video for "Problems", featuring 6lack rapping next to a grizzly bear,[8] was released on October 14, 2016.[9]

Commercial performance

Free 6lack debuted at number 68 on the US Billboard 200 for the chart dated December 10, 2016 and has since peaked at number 34.[10]

Track listing

Free 6lack track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Never Know"
4:09
2."Rules"
  • Valentine
  • Trevor Slade
  • David Moreau-Hispard
  • Joshua Scruggs
  • Ozan Yildirim
  • Syk Sense
  • OZ
  • Singawd
3:31
3."Prblms"
  • Valentine
  • Jeryn Peters
Nova4:06
4."Free"
  • Valentine
  • Peters
4:23
5."Learn Ya"
  • Valentine
  • Slade
  • Jakob Rabitsch
  • Harry Edwards
  • Singawd
  • Rabitsch
3:35
6."MTFU"
  • Valentine
  • Bankole
  • Andre Robertson
  • FWDSLXSH
  • Bizness Boi
  • JT Gagarin[b]
3:28
7."Luving U"
  • Valentine
  • Slade
  • Matthew Kidd
Singawd4:12
8."Gettin' Old"
Isaac3:35
9."Worst Luck"
  • Valentine
  • Rabitsch
  • Slade
  • Jared Gagarin
  • David Biral
  • Denzel Michael-Akil Baptiste
  • Jahphet Landis
  • Karl Brutus
3:26
10."Ex Calling"
  • Nayvadius Wilburn
  • Joshua Luellen
  • Southside
  • DZL[c]
3:31
11."Alone / EA6"
9:13
Total length:47:00
Free 6lack – Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Glock Six"
  • Valentine
  • Jon Castelli
  • Julian Bohorquez
  • Jon Castelli
  • JulianBeatz
3:10
13."In Between" (featuring Banks)
  • Valentine
  • Jillian Banks
  • Blomkamp
  • Slade
  • Rabitsch
  • Blomkamp
  • Singawd
  • Rabitsch
3:25
14."One Way" (featuring T-Pain)
4:46
Total length:58:21

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer
  • ^[c] signifies an uncredited producer

Sample credits

  • "Rules" contains samples of "Shadow Knows" performed by Aqua Nebula Oscillator.
  • "Luving U" contains a sample of Slow Meadow's original composition "Lachrymosia".[11]
  • "Ex Calling" contains samples of "Perkys Calling" performed by Future.

Personnel

Performers

Production

  • FWDSLXSH – producer (tracks 1, 6)
  • MDS – producer (track 1)
  • Alex Leone – producer (track 1)
  • Frank Dukes – producer (track 1)
  • Syk Sense – producer (track 2)
  • OZ – producer (track 2)
  • Singawd – producer (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13), additional producer (track 14)
  • Nova – producer (tracks 3, 4)
  • Jakob Rabitsch – producer (tracks 5, 9, 11, 13)
  • Bizness Boi – producer (track 6)
  • Breyan Isaac – producer (track 8)
  • Karl Rubin – producer (track 9)
  • Roofeeo – producer (track 9)
  • Childish Major – producer (track 9)
  • Take A Daytrip – producer (track 9)
  • 6lack – producer (tracks 9, 11)
  • JT Gagarin – producer (tracks 9), additional producer (tracks 6, 14)
  • Southside – producer (track 10)
  • DZL – producer (track 10)
  • Dot da Genius – producer (track 11)
  • Jon Castelli – producer (track 12)
  • Julian Beats – producer (track 12)
  • Lucian Blomkamp – producer (tracks 13), additional producer (track 14)
  • Stwo – producer (track 14)

Technical

  • JT Gagarin – recording engineer (tracks 1, 2, 4-7, 9, 11, 13, 14), mixing engineer (tracks 13, 14)
  • Jon Castelli – mixing engineer (tracks 1-12)

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Free 6lack
Chart (2016–2017) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12] 88
US Billboard 200[13] 34
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 11
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[15] 5

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for Free 6lack
Chart (2017) Position
US Billboard 200[16] 83
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17] 38

Certifications

Certifications for Free 6lack
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[18] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[19] Gold 10,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 60,000‡
United States (RIAA)[21] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Duricy, Brian (November 29, 2016). "6LACK: FREE 6LACK". PopMatters. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  2. ^ "FREE 6LACK – 6LACK". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Platon, Adelle. "6lack Talks Industry Growing Pains, Love Songs & Moody Debut Album 'Free 6lack'". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  4. ^ Street, Mikelle (November 14, 2017). "6lack released 3 bonus tracks for the anniversary of Free 6lack". The Fader. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  5. ^ "Ex Calling - Single - FREE 6LACK". Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  6. ^ "6LACK Shares "Ex Calling" Video". The Fader. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  7. ^ "iTunes - Music - PRBLMS - Single by 6LACK". Itunes.apple.com. 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  8. ^ Schmelling, Clay Skipper, Michael (2017-03-30). "How 6LACK Went From Sleeping in a Recording Studio to Touring with The Weeknd". GQ. Retrieved 2017-04-18.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "6LACK Shares "PRBLMS" Video". Pigeons and Planes. 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  10. ^ "Billboard 200 - December 10, 2016". Billboard 200. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  11. ^ "My track "Lachrymosia" was sampled in this song by @6LACK. This probably my favorite use of any of my music so far". Retrieved 24 August 2017 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ "6LACK Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  13. ^ "6LACK Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  14. ^ "6LACK Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  15. ^ "6LACK Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  16. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  17. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  18. ^ "Canadian album certifications – 6lack – Free 6lack". Music Canada. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  19. ^ "Danish album certifications – 6lack – Free 6lack". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  20. ^ "British album certifications – 6lack – Free 6lack". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  21. ^ "American album certifications – 6lack – Free 6lack". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
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