Albums by this artist

Blazing Arrow (2002)

Blackalicious

Blazing Arrow

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» JOHN MCCORMACK | STAFF WRITER

Blackalicious Blazing Arrow MCA, 2002 RiYL: Mos Def, Jurassic 5, the Roots, DJ Shadow

Expanding upon the creative strides made on their debut album Nia (Swahili for "purpose"), Blackalicious -- aka Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab -- surface from the depths of hip-hop’s underground to drop their first major label release. Sound-tracked by soulful grooves, liquid beats and meditative lyrics, Blazing Arrow is a spiritual outing that opts for originality and experimentation over conformity and excess. Cooking up an enticing fusion of rumbling funk, jazzy soul and precision scratching, Blackalicious serve up a thick, mouth-watering melodic stew that argues for a well-deserved place among the best MCs and DJs of the day.

For Blackalicious, residents of the Bay Area, Blazing Arrow represents a fundamental step in a much larger evolution in group sound and creativity. From the drop of their first EP, the soulful Melodica, released back in 1992 on Solesides, to the funked-out A2G, the predecessor to Nia, Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab have always been progressive students in the hip-hop game.

Forever searching for new sources of influence and inspiration, on Blazing Arrow, they enlist the creative hand of a whole faction of guest artists, including Gil Scott-Heron, Zack de la Rocha and the Roots’ ?uestlove. Highlights include the cryptic “First In Flight,” in which Heron’s oracular choruses are the perfect complement to Gab’s reflective lyrical vision, and “Nowhere Fast,” in which ?uestlove’s funky drumming pushes and prods Xcel’s kaleidoscopic mixes.

The album's most entertaining collaboration, however, is “Chemical Calisthenics,” a head-to-head beat battle that pins Gab’s rhyme skills against the cutting prowess of Jurassic 5’s Cut Chemist. Showcasing a whole arsenal of spitting styles as he runs through -- among other things -- a never-ending list of chemicals, Gab holds his own and then some. Not to miss out on all the fun, on some of the album’s other standout tracks, Chief Xcel proves he can flash insane skills when he wants to. On the title track, Xcel is at the top of his game, taking the chorus of a Harry Nilsson children’s song and building it into a neck-snapping hip-hop classic.

Just as Mos Def, Talib Kweli and other skilled cats have secured a place for elevating, intelligent rap on the East coast, Blackalicious are forging a similarly enlightened future for the West.

JOHN MCCORMACK |