Laid Black Explained

Laid Black
Type:	studio
Artist:	Marcus Miller
Cover:	Laid Back cover.jpg
Studio:	Bailey Music Studio (Las Vegas, NV) Buckjump Studios (New Orleans, LA) Dockside Studios (Lafayette, LA) Golson Studios (Philadelphia, PA) Hannibal Studios (Santa Monica, CA) Jonathan Butler Studio (Calabasas, CA) Lofi Studio (Boston, MA) Sear Sound (New York, NY) Synergy Studios (Seattle, WA) The Village (Los Angeles, CA)
Genre:	Hip hop Jazz Funk Soul
Label:	Blue Note
Producer:	Marcus Miller Henry Martin Jr. Brenda Miller
Prev Title:	Afrodeezia
Prev Year:	2015

Laid Black is a studio album by American recording artist Marcus Miller. It was released on June 1, 2018 by Blue Note Records. Laid Black was nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.^{[1] [2]} The album features collaborations with Trombone Shorty, Jonathan Butler, Take 6, Selah Sue, Kirk Whalum & Alex Han.^{[3] [4]}

The track "Keep 'Em Runnin" is based on "Runnin" from Earth, Wind & Fire's 1977 album "All 'n All". Miller's arrangement plays the original melody over a half-tempo hip hop beat and adds a rap.^[5]

Reception

Michelle Mercer of DownBeat wrote, "There’s no judging an album by its cover. But the cover of Marcus Miller’s Laid Black is a litmus test: The title’s pun, the image of a shirtless Miller gazing with soulful directness and the musician’s reputation itself will divide most listeners into believers and doubters before they’ve even heard the first bass slap." Dan Bilawski of JazzTimes stated, "In liberally mixing aspects of R&B, trap, funk, and hip-hop with jazz, Miller manages to play up their commonalities while leveraging the originality and accessibility of each."^[6]

Track listing

All songs written by Marcus Miller, except where noted.^{[7] [8]}

Personnel

• Marcus Miller – vocals, electric bass, bass clarinet, keyboards, guitar, alto sax, percussion
• Selah Sue – vocals on 2
• Trombone Shorty – trombone on 3
• Alex Bailey – percussion
• Jonathan Butler – vocals, guitar on 4
• Alex Han – alto saxophone on 9
• Kirk Whalum – flute, tenor saxophone on 9
• Take 6 – vocals on 9
• Louis Cato – vocals, drums
• Honey Larochelle – vocals
• Julian Miler – vocals
• Charles Haynes – drums
• Adam Agati – guitar
• Brian Culbertson – trombone
• Cliff Barnes – piano
• Russell Gunn – trumpet
• Marquis Hill – trumpet
• Patches Stewart – trumpet
• Mitch Henry – keyboards
• Brett Williams – keyboards

Technical Personnel

• Aleks Edmonds – engineer
• Chris Allen – engineer
• Feri Bong – engineer, mixing
• Ron Boustead – mastering
• Jan de Ryck – vocal engineer
• Colin Fleming – engineer
• Jeff Gartenbaum – engineer
• Julian Miller – engineer
• David Rideau – mixing
• Jason Shavey – engineer
• Charles Smith – engineer
• Justin Tocket – engineer

Notes and References

1. Web site: about. Marcus Miller. 2020-02-26.
2. Web site: Marcus Miller. 2019-11-19. GRAMMY.com. en. 2020-02-26.
3. Web site: Grammy-Winning Bassist Marcus Miller Returns With 'Laid Black' uDiscover. Sexton. Paul. 2018-06-01. uDiscover Music. en-US. 2020-02-26.
4. Web site: Blue Note Records. www.bluenote.com. 2020-02-26.
5. Web site: Marcus Miller: keep 'em running. January 2020. Bass Player Staff08. Bass Player. en. 2020-03-09.
6. Web site: Bilawsky . Dan . Marcus Miller: Laid Black (Blue Note) . . 31 July 2020 . 25 April 2019.
7. Web site: Laid Black - Marcus Miller Songs, Reviews, Credits. AllMusic. en-us. 2020-02-26.
8. Web site: Marcus Miller - Laid Black. Discogs. en. 2020-02-26.