High on the list of most reliable 1-2 punches in music is 6lack and Jessie Reyez, who add to their well-established collaborative catalog with new single “Homicide.” The track positions both artists in familiar territory, thrusting themselves into romance with just enough danger to keep things interesting. “If she catch me with that bitch, she runnin’ down on me tonight / It’s gon be homicide,” 6lack declares on the chorus, going on to use his partner’s threatened acts of violence as theatrics in his verse. Perfectly cast, Reyez tells the other side of the story with her impassioned, magnetic presence. Past the intimidating substance of “Homicide” is an intense affair only fitting for the personalities at hand.

Accompanying the Reyez collaboration is solo venture “Mean It,” a sober examination of a relationship on its last legs. Here, 6lack’s signature candor shines through an otherwise anticlimactic sonic terrain. A line is drawn in the sand, and the rules are simple: whatever is said must be meant, with words becoming the most significant currency in the relationship. The emotional distance inherent in 6lack’s delivery adds weight to his lyrics; if someone as seemingly emotionless as he comes across can feel this despondent, one can only imagine the depth of these feelings. Slated as a B-Side, “Mean It” fits comfortably into 6lack’s collection of secluded confessionals.

After a lengthy hiatus, 6lack returned this year with Since I Have A Lover, an album that saw the Atlanta artist settling into a new love, less scorned and scarred than he’s been known to display on record. His tour supporting the album is set to kick off on October 1 in Portland, the first of a 40 date run across North America and Europe. Supporting 6lack on select dates is Mereba, QUINN, Jordan Ward, SPINALL, and Sad Boi. You can buy tickets to 6lack’s first tour in six years here.

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