Join the forum

Join our active and rapidly growing Hip-Hop community

Whats the harm in looking?

Forum | Register

  Search the web

 

 


   Advertisment
  Hip Hop Rapture: Blackalicious

Blackalicious



Like a few other West Coast rap acts, including the Pharcyde and Jurassic 5, Blackalicious has generally favored what hip-hoppers call the "positive tip"; in other words, its lyrics have often been spiritual and uplifting rather than violent or misogynous. Like a lot of experimental alternative rappers, Blackalicious can be quirky and eccentric; nonetheless, spirituality is a big part of the group's music. Although Blackalicious wasn't formed until the early '90s, some of its members had known each other since the late '80s. Founding members Gift of Gab (T.J. Parker) and Chief Xcel (Xavier Mosley) first met in Sacramento, CA, in 1987 when they were students at John F. Kennedy High School. Neither of them was originally from Sacramento; DJ/producer Xcel (who was going by DJ IceSki at the time) was a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, while rapper Gift of Gab was from Los Angeles' suburban San Fernando Valley. They went their separate ways after the Gift of Gab (also known as Gabby T) graduated from Kennedy High in 1989, but were reunited in Davis, CA, in 1992. By that time, Xcel had become a student at the University of California at Davis and the Gift of Gab moved to Davis to form Blackalicious with him. U.C. Davis was where Xcel had started working with a hip-hop outfit called the SoleSides Crew, whose members included DJ Shadow, Lateef the Truth Speaker, and Lyrics Born, and in 1992, the SoleSides Crew became part of Blackalicious. SoleSides Records was the name of the SoleSides Crew's Northern California record company and in 1994, that label released Blackalicious' debut single "Swan Lake." Although not a triple-platinum smash, the single was a small underground hit that fared well among alternative rap audiences. The following year, SoleSides Records released a Blackalicious EP titled Melodica. By late 1997, SoleSides Records had gone out of business; however, it soon re-emerged as Quannum Records. In 1999, Quannum put out a Blackalicious EP, titled A2G, and in 2000, Quannum released the group's full-length album Nia (whose title is the Swahili word for purpose). After being together eight years, Blackalicious finally signed with a major label when, in late 2000, the Californians were signed by MCA. In April 2002, MCA released Blackalicious' full-length album Blazing Arrow, which boasts guest appearances by artists who range from vocalist Zack de la Rocha (of Rage Against the Machine fame) to the Roots' ?uestlove to veteran soul singer Gil Scott-Heron. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Google
 

Link to Blackalicious's Biography:
   Rap Reviews
Hip-Hop album reviews

J Dilla - The Shining (2006) Review
Ghostface Killah - More Fish
Upload-ing...
Lil' Flip and Mr. Capone-E: "Connected"
Snoop Blue carpet treatment
Banks - Rotten Apple

  Hip Hop menu
  Home
  Rap forum
  Reviews
  Resources
  Link us
  Advertise
  Contact us
  Network
Thugz-Network
Myspace Resource
Chamillionaire
Mac Dre
Myspace Codes
  Sponsors
Nike Shoes
Download Ringtones
Become a Sponsor
Become a Sponsor
Become a Sponsor
  Affiliates
Rap Music
TheGameFans.com
Hip Hop Ringtones
Lil Wayne Ringtones
Become an Affiliate