The album was supported by two official singles: "Boca Raton" with ASAP Ferg and "Tribe" with J. Cole, and promotional single, "Pinball II" featuring Correy C. The album debuted at number 35 on the US Billboard 200, selling 13,150 album-equivalent units in the first week.[5]
Background
Bas addressed the release of Milky Way and the thought process behind it on Instagram saying:
It's been two and a half years since Too High to Riot. I've spent the better part searching for ground. We go looking for love in all the wrong places. We go on radio shows looking for love from the hosts and their audience. We put out albums, our truths, in hopes the public will love them and catapult us to great successes. We hope our labels will love how the singles perform. We conquer as many women as we can as if it'll make us love ourselves. Instead of finding one that who shows you the man you could be. We share only the good parts of our lives on social media. In hopes of making people fall in love with us. One like at a time. This album is about finding ground. About not poisoning your own well. About finding and tethering yourself to the love that truly fulfills you. Love of self. Love of others. Lovers. Family. Friends. Fans. You've all given me all the affirmation I'll ever need. That is the Milky Way. The only way to go.[6]
Promotion
Bas announced the Milky Way Tour on September 25, 2018 in support of the album. The tour will include 43 North American dates, starting in New Orleans, on November 16, 2018, and concluding in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 24, 2019.[7]
Singles
On April 10, 2018, Bas released the promotional single "Pinball II" featuring Correy C,[8] although not making it onto the album. The music video for "Pinball II" was released on June 5, 2018.[9]
The album's first single "Boca Raton" with ASAP Ferg was released on June 19, 2018.[10] The music video was released on August 9, 2018.[11] On August 22, 2018, Bas released the second single "Tribe" with J. Cole, accompanied by a music video. The video was shot in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood.[12]
On February 29, 2019, it was released the music video for "Purge". As the latest single of the album.
Other songs
The music video for the song, "Fragrance" featuring Correy C, was released on October 23, 2018.[13]
Upon its release, the album received critical acclaim. In a one listen review from hip hop website DJBooth, writer Yoh Phillips praised the album calling it a "unique sonic experience", he continued saying: "Milky Way is a body of work built for pure enjoyment. Music for a good time. Compared to his first two albums, Milky Way sounds specially crafted for return visits."[14] Riley Wallace of HipHopDX gave the album a positive review saying, "Milky Way isn't a blatant attempt at killing the charts with sure-shot singles and will attract only a handful of new supporters with this approach. To its overall credit, however, it's a carefully curated collection of controlled experimentation that works as separate pieces and as a whole. If — like he suggests — he's giving New York City a "whole new sound," then the future sounds ... milky."[15] Writing for Medium, Hamish Raman called the album "amazing", he commented saying: "I would recommend that everyone listen to it at least once especially if you want some music to vibe to. Dreamville is killing it at the moment, and it's got me hyped to see what's next."[17]
Writing for HotNewHipHop, Richard Bryan said, "Milky Way is pretty much perfect vacation music. Soundtracks to laugh, and drink, and periodically, dance to. Despite the lack of weightiness to the work, Bas genuinely seems to be having fun experimenting with new styles and rhythms.[16] Trey Alston of Revolt called the album "one of the most articulate, brilliant albums of the year", saying: "On Milky Way, Bas masters the art of versatility while remaining true to his lane.[18]
In other media
The track "Tribe" appeared on the soundtrack to 2018 video game FIFA 19.[19]
"PDA" contains elements of "Thank You", written and performed by Devonté Hynes, Adam Bainbridge and Rodney Franklin, and "Song For You", written and performed by Rodney Franklin.
"Designer" contains a sample of "Come Back" written and performed by Tom Misch.
"Spaceships + Rockets" contains elements of "Music To My Ears", written and performed by Dominic "Mocky" Salole and the South African hit Gqom Song "Wololo" by Babes Wodumo and Mampintsha as featured in the hit Marvel Studios film Black Panther.
