Free 6lack

Free 6lack is the debut studio album by American singer 6lack.^[3] It was released on November 18, 2016, by LVRN and Interscope Records.^[3] The album was supported by two singles: "Ex Calling" and "Prblms". It was nominated at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

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Release

On November 13, 2017, three additional new songs were added to the album to celebrate the album's anniversary.^[4]

Singles

The first single from the album, "Ex Calling", was released on July 25, 2016.^[5] The song contains samples of "Perkys Calling" by Future from the mixtape Purple Reign. The music video for "Ex Calling" was released on December 5, 2016.^[6]

The second single from the album, "Prblms", was released on September 23, 2016.^[7] The music video for "Problems", featuring 6lack rapping next to a grizzly bear,^[8] was released on October 14, 2016.^[9]

Commercial performance

Free 6lack debuted at number 68 on the US Billboard 200 for the chart dated December 10, 2016 and has since peaked at number 34.^[10]

Track listing

*Free 6lack* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Never Know"	Ricardo Valentine Adeyinka Bankole Aleksi Asiala Ali Zafar Adam Feeney Santeri Kauppinen	FWDSLXSH MDS Alex Leone Frank Dukes^[c]	4:09
2.	"Rules"	Valentine Trevor Slade David Moreau-Hispard Joshua Scruggs Ozan Yildirim	Syk Sense OZ Singawd	3:31
3.	"Prblms"	Valentine Jeryn Peters	Nova	4:06
4.	"Free"	Valentine Peters	Nova Singawd^[c]	4:23
5.	"Learn Ya"	Valentine Slade Jakob Rabitsch Harry Edwards	Singawd Rabitsch	3:35
6.	"MTFU"	Valentine Bankole Andre Robertson	FWDSLXSH Bizness Boi JT Gagarin^[b]	3:28
7.	"Luving U"	Valentine Slade Matthew Kidd	Singawd	4:12
8.	"Gettin' Old"	Valentine Breyan Isaac Manny Mercado	Isaac	3:35
9.	"Worst Luck"	Valentine Rabitsch Slade Jared Gagarin David Biral Denzel Michael-Akil Baptiste Jahphet Landis Karl Brutus	Rubin Roofeeo Childish Major Rabitsch Take A Daytrip Singawd 6lack JT Gagarin	3:26
10.	"Ex Calling"	Nayvadius Wilburn Joshua Luellen	Southside DZL^[c]	3:31
11.	"Alone / EA6"	Valentine Slade Rabitsch Oladipo Omishore Lucian Blomkamp	Dot da Genius Singawd 6lack Rabitsch	9:13
Total length:				47:00

*Free 6lack* – Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
12.	"Glock Six"	Valentine Jon Castelli Julian Bohorquez	Jon Castelli JulianBeatz	3:10
13.	"In Between" (featuring Banks)	Valentine Jillian Banks Blomkamp Slade Rabitsch	Blomkamp Singawd Rabitsch	3:25
14.	"One Way" (featuring T-Pain)	Valentine Faheem Najm Slade Blomkamp Steven Vidal Gagarin	Stwo Singawd^[b] Blomkamp^[b] JT Gagarin^[b]	4:46
Total length:				58:21

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer
^{^[c]} signifies an uncredited producer

Sample credits

"Rules" contains samples of "Shadow Knows" performed by Aqua Nebula Oscillator.
"Luving U" contains a sample of Slow Meadow's original composition "Lachrymosia".^[11]
"Ex Calling" contains samples of "Perkys Calling" performed by Future.

Personnel

Performers

6lack – primary artist

Production

FWDSLXSH – producer (tracks 1, 6)
MDS – producer (track 1)
Alex Leone – producer (track 1)
Frank Dukes – producer (track 1)
Syk Sense – producer (track 2)
OZ – producer (track 2)
Singawd – producer (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13), additional producer (track 14)
Nova – producer (tracks 3, 4)
Jakob Rabitsch – producer (tracks 5, 9, 11, 13)
Bizness Boi – producer (track 6)
Breyan Isaac – producer (track 8)
Karl Rubin – producer (track 9)
Roofeeo – producer (track 9)
Childish Major – producer (track 9)
Take A Daytrip – producer (track 9)
6lack – producer (tracks 9, 11)
JT Gagarin – producer (tracks 9), additional producer (tracks 6, 14)
Southside – producer (track 10)
DZL – producer (track 10)
Dot da Genius – producer (track 11)
Jon Castelli – producer (track 12)
Julian Beats – producer (track 12)
Lucian Blomkamp – producer (tracks 13), additional producer (track 14)
Stwo – producer (track 14)

Technical

JT Gagarin – recording engineer (tracks 1, 2, 4-7, 9, 11, 13, 14), mixing engineer (tracks 13, 14)
Jon Castelli – mixing engineer (tracks 1-12)

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Free 6lack*
Chart (2016–2017)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[12]	88
US Billboard 200^[13]	34
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[14]	11
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)^[15]	5

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for *Free 6lack*
Chart (2017)	Position
US Billboard 200^[16]	83
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[17]	38

Certifications

Certifications for *Free 6lack*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[18]	Platinum	80,000^‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[19]	Gold	10,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)^[20]	Silver	60,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[21]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Duricy, Brian (November 29, 2016). "6LACK: FREE 6LACK". PopMatters. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
^ "FREE 6LACK – 6LACK". AllMusic. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Platon, Adelle. "6lack Talks Industry Growing Pains, Love Songs & Moody Debut Album 'Free 6lack'". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
^ Street, Mikelle (November 14, 2017). "6lack released 3 bonus tracks for the anniversary of Free 6lack". The Fader. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
^ "Ex Calling - Single - FREE 6LACK". Retrieved January 29, 2017.
^ "6LACK Shares "Ex Calling" Video". The Fader. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
^ "iTunes - Music - PRBLMS - Single by 6LACK". Itunes.apple.com. 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
^ Schmelling, Clay Skipper, Michael (2017-03-30). "How 6LACK Went From Sleeping in a Recording Studio to Touring with The Weeknd". GQ. Retrieved 2017-04-18.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "6LACK Shares "PRBLMS" Video". Pigeons and Planes. 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
^ "Billboard 200 - December 10, 2016". Billboard 200. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
^ "My track "Lachrymosia" was sampled in this song by @6LACK. This probably my favorite use of any of my music so far". Retrieved 24 August 2017 – via Twitter.
^ "6LACK Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
^ "6LACK Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
^ "6LACK Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
^ "6LACK Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
^ "Canadian album certifications – 6lack – Free 6lack". Music Canada. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
^ "Danish album certifications – 6lack – Free 6lack". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
^ "British album certifications – 6lack – Free 6lack". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
^ "American album certifications – 6lack – Free 6lack". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 20, 2020.

v t e 6lack
Discography
Studio albums	Free 6lack (2016) East Atlanta Love Letter (2018) Since I Have a Lover (2023)
Extended plays	6pc Hot EP (2020)
Singles	"Prblms" "OTW" "It's Not U It's Me" "Imported" "Know My Rights" "Stay Down" "Calling My Phone"
Featured singles	"Waves" "Only Want You" "The Pink Phantom"

This page was last edited on 4 December 2023, at 20:53

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