I had to take this opportunity to give a shoutout to what is easily one of my favorite all-time rap groups. Consisting of rapper Gift of Gab and producer Chief Xcel, Blackalicious incorporates tongue-twisting rhymes over drum heavy and often jazzy beats. My personal favorite album of theirs is the 1999 release Nia. The album flows nicely all the way through, and every track is a winner. If I had to find a complaint, a lot of the tracks end with lengthy interludes that include a distant female voice repeatedly saying the word "nia," that I feel are drawn out longer than they have to be and are not as interesting as the regular tracks. However, even their interludes are backed by interesting instrumentals and samples. My favorite tracks are "Reanimation," "If I may," and "As the World Turns," but the album is solid throughout, a praise that I seldom give out to hip-hop albums.
In Nia, and other releases, Gift of Gab executes masterful lyricism that varies from, philosophical statements, to societal comments, and even some comedic wordplay. Possibly my favorite gab lyric is on his solo track, "Lightyears:"
Mentally Beginning at the end
Remembering Entering the gates Of the temples of infinity
Riveting innate Sensibilities epiphanies Levitating thoughts From the earth To begin to see
When the trees Underneath my feet Then begin to shrink
Eye level birds eye view Where the buildings be
Tendency to Define my alignment It renders me Helpless
It's spits like this, that really make you think, that I feel are missing from the hip-hop that gets played on the radio now. It's not hard to see that gab gained a lot from being a writer before he started rapping. Though, Gift of Gab's flow and lyricism are far from the only assets that Blackalicious has at it's disposal. Chief Xcel sets him up perfectly with hard hitting drums, jazz samples, and fresh basslines. Beats by the chief that I particularly enjoy are on Nia's "Making Progress," and "Supreme People" off the album The Craft.
Nia and The Craft are my two favorite Blackalicious releases, but their other studio Blazing Arrow is also very worth listening to, and even features Jurassic 5 MC, Chali 2na, on the track "4,000 Miles." Blackalicious also has two EP's out, A 2 G and Melodica, which are both solid. Gift of Gab's solo music is also worth checking out, though the beats are a more new-age style that I don't like quite as much as those of Chief Xcel.
It's spits like this, that really make you think, that I feel are missing from the hip-hop that gets played on the radio now. It's not hard to see that gab gained a lot from being a writer before he started rapping. Though, Gift of Gab's flow and lyricism are far from the only assets that Blackalicious has at it's disposal. Chief Xcel sets him up perfectly with hard hitting drums, jazz samples, and fresh basslines. Beats by the chief that I particularly enjoy are on Nia's "Making Progress," and "Supreme People" off the album The Craft.
Nia and The Craft are my two favorite Blackalicious releases, but their other studio Blazing Arrow is also very worth listening to, and even features Jurassic 5 MC, Chali 2na, on the track "4,000 Miles." Blackalicious also has two EP's out, A 2 G and Melodica, which are both solid. Gift of Gab's solo music is also worth checking out, though the beats are a more new-age style that I don't like quite as much as those of Chief Xcel.
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