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Photo Credit: Manny Singh

No stranger to the soulful, bouncy ballads of summer, Malik Flint, professionally known as "bLAck pARty," continues to showcase his multifaceted nature upon the release of his new album Endless Summer. Despite his start as a producer for artists like Kari Faux in 2013, Flint's claim to fame as a solo artist emerged after the success of his first project Mango in late 2016. With a style that is self-described as "tropical funk," or a fusion of reggae, dancehall, and tropical tones, bLAck pARty has been known to celebrate a multitude of styles spanning R&B, hip-hop, and psychedelic soul to create a sound that is definitively his own.    

Fast-forward to August of 2019, the Arkansas-born and Los Angeles-based musician continues this stylistic legacy with the release of his highly anticipated project Endless Summer. After dropping teaser, song demos on Soundcloud in the fall of 2017 (and taking them down shortly after), fans of bLAck pARty have been awaiting this drop for some time, and for good reason.  

Compiled into a 10-song tracklist, bLAck pARty's production, songwriting, and overall artistry on Endless Summer stays on brand to sonically encapsulate the airy, warm feelings of summertime. A prime example of this is on pARty's fourth track titled "Dancing." Originally one of the demos that was released on Soundcloud for a brief moment in time, this track made the cut on his final project. Woven between traditional, funk beats and lo-fi instrumentation, bLAck pARty stays within his familiar R&B realm as he illustrates the fantasy of a carefree night spent dancing. Being as dynamic as he is, though, pARty showcases his versatility on tracks like "No Complaints (feat. DMP Jefe)" and "Home (feat. Zoe & Y. Machelle)," which just so happen to include vocal contributions from his brother (DMP Jefe), sister (Zoe), and mother (Y. Machelle). A family affair indeed, bLAck pARty effortlessly combines his trademarked, multifaceted style with that of his family members to highlight the hip-hop and soul elements that were more discreet in his previous project, Mango.    

With the release of his new album Endless Summer, bLAck pARty has certainly proved to us that his three-year intermission was well worth the wait. He tells us that "Summer is more than a season, it is a feeling. It's the feeling of freedom. A feeling of escape - it's the calm in the storm of life," and this project is definitely reminiscent of that. As the genre of R&B continues to broaden and evolve, so does bLAck pARty - and it is only appropriate to acknowledge his dynamism. If you haven't already, be sure to check out bLAck pARty's previous project Mango and stream Endless Summer today: