bLAck pARty - Hummingbird (2022) Hi-Res

bLAck pARty spoke with Okayplayer about his new album Hummingbird, collaborating with Childish Gambino, why music peaked in the ’70s and more.

If bLAck pARty could have his way, he would’ve been a product of the 1970s. You can gauge it in his influences and aesthetic — from the musician being an Al Green devotee (his favorite album is I’m Still in Love With You because it not only has some of his favorite Al tracks — like “Simply Beautiful” — but it was also released in bLAck’s birthday month, October) to his third album, Hummingbird, being a sonic nod to The ‘Me’ Decade.

An Arkansas native, bLAck pARty (born Malik Flint) has made Los Angeles his homebase for nearly a decade, where he’s signed to Donald Glover’s Wolf + Rothstein imprint. It was 2014 when Glover caught wind of bLAck pARty through his co-production on Kari Faux’s “No Small Talk,” which he later remixed on his seventh mixtape, STN MTN / Kauai. Since then, bLAck pARty and Glover have built a trusted relationship as friends and creatives, with the 30-year-old contributing background vocals on “Have Some Love,” and additional production on “Me and Your Mama” from Childish Gambino’s 2016 album Awaken, My Love!

Flying solo again on Hummingbird, bLAck pARty exudes indie cool, whether slowing things down on the guitar driven “On My Way,” or giving a stream-of-consciousness freestyle alongside Saba on the trippy “KEMET.” On new single “ILYMTYK,” he even taps Childish for their first collaboration together, with the Atlanta star channeling his inner André 3000 and rapping about his father’s death. On Hummingbird, bLAck pARty takes his previous mellow offerings — Mango and Endless Summer — and deepens the energy, a testament to paving his way through Arkansas’ DIY music scene.