6lack at the Aragon Ballroom.
Atlanta-native 6lack puts on a masterful show at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom.
artwork by Tanaya Vohra.
The first 6lack song I ever listened to was “Season,” a relaxed R&B-esque single with a heavy enough drumline to make my heart pound, but still melodic enough to put a sway in my step. I say “R&B-esque” because Khalid, the king of code switching between R&B and pop, was featured on it. (I’ve adoringly followed Khalid since his debut album American Teen dropped back in 2017.) Looking back, that was my first introduction to the world of rhythm and blues, but I found myself stuck in the heavily commercialized, ready-for-radio domain of the genre for at least another few years before I really discovered how heavily I resonated with it. The pull of inarguably silky vocal layers and subtly undeniable bass lines will always work for me.
But back to 6lack.
When I finally entered my real R&B era, 6lack was one of the first artists I kept adding to my playlists, mainly because in true contemporary R&B style, he had collaborated with a whole bunch of my other favorite artists across genres and disciplines, and I was intrigued as to who he was. As I tend to do with artists I am newly discovering, I went album by album, single by single. Slowly but surely, I fell in love with Ricardo Valentine Jr., otherwise known mononymously as 6lack.
Raised in Zone 6 of Atlanta, 6lack—and make sure you pronounce it “black”—credits a lot of his success and musical inspiration to his hometown which, if you’ve listened to any of his albums, tends to be featured prominently and referenced often. His latest album Since I Have A Lover is no different, with songs like “Decatur” unpacking a carefree romance taking place in the northern Atlanta neighborhood of the same name. In fact, 6lack’s love for his hometown is so strong that while watching him perform live on the Since I Have A Lover tour at the Aragon Ballroom on Chicago’s northside in November, I couldn’t help but notice that the stage was completely decked out with Atlantan memorabilia. Unfortunately, my shaky iPhone videos were no help in capturing the amazing work of whoever was in charge of his set design, but the attention to detail will forever remain an impressive part of my recollection of his show.
The next in a long list of things I loved about 6lack’s performance was the way he made sure the energy of his set closely reflected that of the album. So often I find artists pulling hit songs out of their archives in order to hype up a tiring audience, with no thought as to how out of place it may sound in the grand scheme of the setlist. That’s not to say 6lack didn’t take us back in time to gift us updated and revamped performances of his hit singles “Ex-Calling” and “East Atlanta Love Letter,” but he prefaced doing so with a spoken interlude set to music, much like one would find between every few songs on his actual album. On top of that, given that Since I Have A Lover primarily tackles 6lack’s maturation and life experiences as a father to his now six-year-old daughter, his active reflections on his past music actually made for a very touching and nostalgic experience. He emphasized to us that each of these projects captured him in an entirely different mindset and otherwise unfamiliar point in life. 6lack had the entire crowd in the palm of his hand as he masterfully guided us through: his journey towards unbelievable success with “Inwood Hill Park”; his fairytale relationship with fellow artist and collaborator QUIN on “Fatal Attraction”; and even his anxiety from being newly responsible for a family of his own during “Rent Free.”
6lack’s nearly two hour long set was a rollercoaster. There is always something so special about seeing your favorite artists in the flesh, but experiencing 6lack’s raw emotion and energy fill up Aragon’s packed ballroom was something else. My favorite part of the show, without a doubt, was when he asked the crowd during one of his spoken interludes which song we’d like him to sing. I—along with everyone around me—yelled my song of choice at the top of my lungs knowing full well that my voice was being swallowed up in the mess of screams. Nonetheless, I couldn’t help but smile when an incredibly familiar heart-pounding drumline slid out of the speakers.
“It’s been a lil’ cold / at night outside / switch out the wardrobe / gotta be dressed for the ride…”
edited by Sydney Cook.
artwork by Tanaya Vohra.