6LACK's voice radiates weariness, a life full of tough choices. Born in Baltimore but raised in Atlanta, 6LACK came of age as a battle rapper, squaring off against opponents including, way back in the ‘00s, an even younger Young Thug. Now, 6LACK has taken that fire and submerged it in slow-simmering breakup songs and wounded club anthems. He sounds just as soulful and thoughtful crooning alongside the sensitive Khalid (“OTW”) as he does on the heartless “PRBLMS”; he's just as comfortable next to a stern J.Cole (“Pretty Little Fears”) as he is in the company of the fantastically dissolute Future (“East Atlanta Love Letter”).