''blkswn'' (pronounced ''black swan'') is the debut studio album by American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Smino Christopher Smith Jr. (born October 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Smino, is an American rapper and singer. Smino is the founder of the musical collective Zero Fatigue with Bari, Monte Booker, Jay2, and Ravyn Lenae. He is a member of t ...

. It was released on March 14, 2017 with

Zero Fatigue Zero Fatigue is an American musical collective and independent record label with a split-base in both St. Louis, Missouri and Chicago, Illinois. The collective was founded by Smino and includes artists and producers Monte Booker, Ravyn Lenae, ...

under license to

Downtown Records Downtown Records is an American record label based in New York City with offices in Los Angeles. Owned and operated by Josh Deutsch and Terence Lam, the label is distributed by Geffen Records (formerly Interscope Records and The Orchard) in the ...

. The album includes guest appearances from

Ravyn Lenae Ravyn Lenae Washington (born January 22, 1999) is an American R&B singer-songwriter from Chicago who is currently signed to Atlantic Records and the Three Twenty Three Music Group. She is also a member of the musical collective Zero Fatigue. H ...

, Bari, theMIND, Jay2, Via Rosa, Drea Smith, Akenya,

Jean Deaux Zoi Harris (born May 4, 1995), better known by her stage name Jean Deaux is an American artist, musician and filmmaker. She is known for her mastery of multiple genres and creative mediums. Her debut EP ''Krash'' was released in October 19, 2018. ...

, and Noname, with production from

Monte Booker Ahmanti Booker (born March 27, 1995), professionally known as Monte Booker is an American producer from Chicago, Illinois. He is part of the musical collective Zero Fatigue, and has worked with artists such as Smino, Ravyn Lenae, Noname, Saba, ...

, THEMpeople, Sango, Phoelix, and J. Bird. The artwork of the album was done by Victor Birriel and taken by

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

native, Taylor Madison, photographer of Diary of Disposables.

Background

The release date holds a special significance to the

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

rapper because 314 is the area code of his hometown.

Release and promotion

Singles

On December 2, 2016, Smino announced the title of the album and released "blkswn" as the first single. On February 8, 2017, the second single, "Anita" was released. He released "Blkoscars" on February 24, and "Father Son, Holy Smoke" on March 10 as promotional singles. On July 26, the music video for "Netflix & Dusse" was released. On March 26, 2018, Smino released the album's final single and music video for "Wild Irish Roses".

Tours

Following the album's release, he headlined in his month-long Swanita Tour, which included 22 dates with guests Monte Booker, Jay2, Bari, and Jean Deaux. Smino and Ravyn Lenae also opened for SZA on the CTRL Tour. During October, he was opening act for T-Pain on his Acoustic Tour, who later appeared on the remix for "Anita" on October 27.

Critical reception

Upon its release, album received critical acclaim and positive reviews. Kelsee Thomas of ''

Earmilk ''EARMILK'', sometimes stylized in all caps, is a North American online music publication. Launched in the late 2000s by Montrey Whittaker, Blake Edwards and Eric DeFazio, ''Earmilk'' publishes on a variety of music genres, often covering hip h ...

'' said "Smino is letting us know in ''blkswn'' that he's aware of the change and of the fact that he needs to pay attention to keeping his vices under control now more than ever. He asked for this blessing and now he's asking for help while his blessings." Scott Glaysher of Exclaim said "Any time an artist can blend genres together in a way that doesn't seem forced or stolen, it definitely makes for an eye-opening listen." On March 17, 2017,

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

named Smino "New Artist of the Week".

Accolades

Track listing

Notes * "Amphetamine" contains a hidden track titled "Krash Kourse" featuring Bari, Jean Deaux, and Noname, produced by Monte Booker, Phoelix and J.Robb

Personnel

* Smino – vocals * Monte Booker – production * Ravyn Lenae – vocals * Bari – vocals * theMIND – vocals * Jay2 – vocals * Via Rosa – vocals * Drea Smith – vocals * Akenya – vocals * THEMpeople – production * Sango – production * Phoelix – production * J. Bird – production * J.Robb – production * Noname – additional vocals * Jean Deaux – additional vocals * Julian Bell – additional background vocals, instrumentation * Michael E. Neil – additional background vocals, instrumentation * Erik Hunter – additional background vocals, instrumentation * Victor Birriel – artwork * Taylor Madison – artwork * Elton "L10MixedIt" Chueng – engineering, mixing, mastering

References

{{Authority control 2017 debut albums Smino albums