Ricardo Valentine is a young buck out of Atlanta whose debut album may have been a long time in the works but, as the title suggests, there's a story behind that.

Originally signed in 2011 to an independent label, the college dropout soon found himself sidelined by politics, shenanigans and assorted silliness before getting off that particular rollercoaster.

The talent survived the turmoil and Free 6lack is a beauty, an 11-track set of broody bedroom soul, evocative hip-hop hustle and low-slung emotional drama.

Valentine's soft, tender voice powers the songs with lines about personal trials, toxic relationships, spirituality, homelessness and the quest for love, while producers Singawd and Nova run the dark, murky, twilight beats which flicker and twitch throughout.

Songs like Rules, PRBLMS and Never Know show that Valentine's creative buzz is currently aglow with oodles of potential. free6lack.com