Published on Jan 22, 2003
For Blackalicious’ major-label debut, members Gift of Gab and
Chief Xcel recruited some of the most prolific and promising
artists in hip-hop as well as rock. The amazing thing is
Blackalicious’ lyrical and studio skills are so solid that even
with high profile guests such as Ben Harper, Zach De La Rocha and
members of The Roots, a listener’s attention seldom wavers from the
Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel.
Blazing Arrow may be considered a debut album, but
Blackalicious members are anything but rookies; the group has
released three underground albums and spent more than 10 years
playing clubs. Who says underground is just one mode?” the band
asks in the head-bobbing “4000 miles.” Blackalicious bucks this
perception by adding elements of rock, R&B and soul throughout
Blazing Arrow.
Some artists pass themselves off as prolific by trying to
incorporate as many different musical elements as they can into
their work. However, this doesn’t mean anything if an artist can’t
pull off the genre switch. Blackalicious need not worry with
Blazing Arrow. “Aural Pleasure” has the soulful groove that
has evaded Prince for a dozen or so releases. “First in Flight” has
the funk of vintage Isaac Hayes, and most of the lyrics on the
album come close to rivaling the political bombast of old-school
Public Enemy.
Blackalicious shares much of the enthusiasm and positivity of
Public Enemy when it comes to social consciousness. Oddly enough,
their positivity is one of the chief blasts I have read against the
album. Apparantly rapping about the joys of graduation didn’t cut
it for some critics. However, there’s plenty of gritty realism
spread throughout
Blazing Arrow. The chief message throughout the album:
life’s struggles may be hard, but it is through these hardships
where people feel the most alive. The most ambitious track on
Blazing Arrow is the nine-minute epic “Release.” The song features
Zach De La Rocha on the chorus, but the song is divided into three
parts. The most stunning part of “Release” comes midway through
when acclaimed poet Saul Williams contributes a stinging poem under
a restrained beat.
In 1992, Xcel befriended DJ Shadow at the University of
California. Shadow eventually would go on to record
Endtroducing, one of the landmark albums of the 1990s.
Although Blackalicious has not achieved the critical recognition of
DJ Shadow or the commercial success of The Roots as of yet,
Blazing Arrow should change this. At seventeen tracks, this
album contains little filler. The clever, rapid-fire lyrics of Gift
of Gab and the infectiousness of most of the tracks should find a
home in many a car stereo for summers to come.
Two thousand two was supposed to be a year when Eminem, The
Roots and Jurassic Five would duke it out for album of the year
honors. With the release of
Blazing Arrow, that race got a lot more interesting. You may
not see them on MTV, but
Blazing Arrow is a musical journey worth taking at a record
store near you.