Blackalicious "The Craft"

[Vladimir]

Is anyone else ridiculously pumped for this (http://www.solesides.com/covblack/craft.jpg)?

from solesides.com:

1. The World Of Vibration (featuring Ledisi)
2. Supreme People
3. Rhythm Sticks
4. Powers
5. Side to Side (featuring Lateef & Pigeon John)
6. Lotus Flower (featuring George Clinton)
7. Automatique (featuring Floetry)
8. The Fall & Rise Elliot Brown Parts 1 & 2
9. The Fall & Rise of Elliot Brown Part 3 (Black Diamonds & Pearls) [featuring Ledisi & Larry Saunders]
10. Cry
11. Your Move (featuring Life Savas)
12. Give It To You (featuring Kween & Lyrics Born)
13. In The Days To Come
14. Egosonic War Drums (featuring Peace)
15. Dance of Firefly

yeah. George. Clinton. Holy crap I'm losing my mind, sorry, comments please. On Blackalicious. Not on how jackass this post is.

[Jurassic]

Hell yeah, Blazing Arrow is an amazing album. Is the release date for this known yet?
The Craft looks a little heavy on the guest-artists though

[Brother McDuff]

I can't wait to hear what direction Chief Xcel has taken with the beats on this one. His grooves are always so fresh and untouchable.

[muddfoot]

It's been a long time coming, I can't wait but they say it won't be out until September. It's nice to see most of the quannum collective doing guest spots on the album. Hopefully they'll put out a single some time soon.

[Vladimir]

Oh snap. I should have put proper links on the original post. It's coming out sept. 27th, and the first and only song off of the album can be heard here (http://joost.ranzies.com/sticks.mp3). Its only 64 kbps, but its what's out.

[gaselite]

gotta check out more Blackalicious stuff, I've got a number of their songs and love some of their stuff, including from this album, gotta buy an LP soon.

Anyway, on an interview with Triple J last week, Chief Xcel stated the License To Ill was one of his main musical inspirations for making this album. Respect.

[steve-onpoint]

Gift of Gab gets it. That's why me be diggin'.

Unfortunately, he was sick the night I saw Blackalicious at the TLA.

[saml]

big disappointment imo.

[PaddyBoy]

I've heard Rhythm Sticks - pretty good.

[EN[i]GMA]

I'm not really feeling most of the beats, but Gab comes correct as always.

He saves the album I believe.

Weak beats, but Gab is so fucking talented it doesn't matter.

[Brother McDuff]

This record is a hard one to criticize. It seems that they have improved their techniques big time, such as bringing in more live musicians, using less samples, and composing a lot more, but in turn they lost their strengths. I respect the artistic growth, it's definitely a respectable album, but the whole coolness of their sound was that they always had real phat samples and psychadelic lyrics, where as now the lyrics are more garden variety; nothing horrible, but not gab's finest. I bet the next album, once they really come into their own w/ their new process, will be one of their illest. In closing, I view this album as a transitional album.

[K-nowledge]

The Craft is a good album but Blazing Arrow is better. Nia is pretty good too.

[Vladimir]

This album is very strange. I really like a lot of the songs off of it, but there's something missing from the album as a whole that makes it less than completely compelling. A lot of the beats seem a little bit unoriginal or ambiguously soul/R&B-ish, which doesn't help it at all. That said, Blackalicious is seriously Top 10 Rap Acts in the world right now IMO, so a somewhat uninspired showing from them is still quite worth having. Blazing Arrow just seems like it has a lot more passion than this outing. My favorite songs are Your Move, Supreme People, Rhythm Sticks, Lotus Flower, and My Pen and Pad. The latter half of the cd feels a little muddy to me.

[EN[i]GMA]

The only problem I have with the lyrics are the feel-good, metaphysical lyrics.

That chorus off of Vibrations is so fucking annoying.

I don't need the fucking string theory divulged to me in song form.