Amazon.com: Blackalicious's debut, Nia, was grossly underrated despite emcees Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel's witty, Afro-centered conceptual leanings. Blazing Arrow picks up where Nia left off, but features a more mature-sounding duo utilizing even tighter beats and more cerebral rhymes. When they're teaming up with fellow West Coasters like Dilated Peoples' Rakka Iriscience ("Passion") or Jurassic 5's Chali 2NA ("4,000 Miles"), the results are off the meter. The sheer number of well-utilized guest spots from non-rap genres (Ben Harper, Rage Against the Machine's Zach de la Rocha) and downright catchy choruses ("Sky Is Falling," "Make You Feel That Way") expand mainstream rap's limited new-school paradigms in ways that are desperately needed. Although the duo still aren't anywhere near the most-skilled emcee's in the Bay Area's burgeoning underground movement, "Paragraph Preside" is a must-hear track, featuring wildly schizophrenic rhyme chemistry and wily wordplay. At a time when dullards like Fabolous get props for being a skilled emcee, any rhyme duo that is more interested in pushing envelopes than licking 'em deserves your ducats. --Dalton Higgins
Original, Cool. A very cool album. Lots of great variety, lyrics and sounds. I've listened to it many times and I still haven't got tired of it. One of those albums where the variety of songs keeps things interesting and keeps you pushing that play button again and again. Great recording sound for your hi-fi. Excellent album. Higly recommended.
"I can't get this CD out of my player!" I love it so. I bought it after seeing the video for "Make You Feel That Way" and I haven't been disappointed. Love the vibe of the CD...it just flows and the mix is well done, as you go from a "head-nodder" to a smooth groove so seamlessly. I just put it in and let it play! My absolute favorite jam is "Nowhere Fast," which comments on what we were, what we are and what we hope to be "tomorrow." I love this CD so much, I went and bought their other two full play CD's. I make my girls sick with how much I play this CD. I guess I'll eventually take it out the rotation, maybe "tomorrow!" A must for anyone who loves great HIP HOP!
Best album I've heard in years Blackalicious is an amazing group, and Gift of Gab is one of the most talented lyricist - not only in the sense of finding the perfect words to express his thoughts, but in composing them in such a way that they create absolutely addictive rhythm.
Blazing Arrow is by far his best CD, and it's the best because not a single song amongst the lot is short of instant classic. Alphabet Aerobics and Chemical Calisthenics are awe-inspiring in their wit. Blazing Arrow and Nowhere Fast are completely flawless tracks. But Make You Feel That Way and Release are nothing short of a pure ecstasy - the former just makes you smile and the later is nothing short of a masterpiece with Saul Williams adding his brilliant poetry.
Get this CD if you like hip-hop. Get this CD if you don't like hip-hop. Get it now, and be convinced that the genre is worthy of the highest laurels.
Blazing Arrow Over their first three releases, the Melodica EP, the A2G EP or their debut album Nia, regardless of how you were introduced to Blackalicious, you had to recognize that you were in the presence of truly awesome hip hop artists. The concept of a duo made up of one emcee on the mic and one DJ controlling the decks had fallen out of favor since the early 90s. However, Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel brought it back and helped many of us who had become disenfranchised with the state of hip hop remember why we loved it.
And then they dropped BLAZING ARROW. I was already of fan of Blackalicious, and I think that they have a lot of great music in them to be made but I am hard pressed to believe that they will ever create anything better than this. This is quite possibly the finest hip hop album to have been released in the 21st century.
Gift of Gab had long ago established himself as one of hip hop's premier wordsmiths. With his glasses, ample frame and extensive vocabulary, he was an emcee that nerds could champion as their own. But anyone who made the mistake of underestimating of him would learn to regret it because Gab can rip microphones with the very best of them. On this album, he continues to live up to the lofty expectations that he's set for himself.
However, as good as Gab continues to be, BLAZING ARROW is really Chief Xcel's album. Thanks to the success and high level of quality of NIA, Blackalicious was picked up by MCA as well as invited to join the Okayplayer family. These two things gave the group access to resources that they hadn't previously had and Xcel takes full advantage of this. The music here is beautifully captivating, with a mixture of hip hop beats and live instrumentation that can only be inadequately summed up as "soulful." Despite the fact that this CD has 17 tracks and runs over 70 minutes, you never feel as if anything on the album is filler. Indeed, it only gets better with subsequent listens. Chief Xcel is one of the top handful of music producers alive today, but this is often overlooked due to the fact that he almost never works with anyone outside of the Quannum family.
The other thing that has to be mentioned about this album is the wonderful use of guests. Again, while there are a LOT of them, never do any of them seem to be out of place or take away from the overall feel. Naturally there are appearances by some of Blackalicious' fellow Quannum cohorts: Lyrics Born, Lateef the Truthspeaker, DJ Shadow and Jumbo the Garbageman from Lifesavas. Additionally, they were able to recruit some of their buddies from Jurassic 5: Chali2na has a guest verse and Cut Chemist returns to produce "Chemical Calistenics," the sequel to "Alphabet Aerobics." Also from Los Angeles' underground scene are Rakaa Iriscience and DJ Babu from Dilated Peoples. But beyond that they brought in some new found Okayplayer friends (?uestlove co-produces a track and Jaguar Wright handles the chorus of "Aural Pleasure") and even beyond THAT they managed to rope in such diverse talents as Gil Scott-Heron, Ben Harper, Saul Williams and Zack de la Rocha.
BLAZING ARROW is a pinnacle achievement in hip hop.
Intriguing. While some of the more well-known underground groups are known for being relatively throwback and such, the same could not be said for Blackalicious. Their music is innovative, and should set a standard for hip-hop. They are unique and exciting to listen to. Not the entire album appeals to me, but I respect the entire thing. It's an underground album that I think more open-minded listeners should be exposed to and would appreciate. I bought this album because of the song "Chemical Calisthenics," I thought it sounded so cool how they did that with the varied tempos and raps that were precise with those beats. Besides, I found many other tracks to be aural pleasure (hehe). There are plenty of memorable moments on here as well, my other favorite probably being "Paragraph President." The energy here is wonderful and there's also kind of a maturity in here that helps. However, there are a few tracks that while I don't dislike them, they don't really appeal to me. That's the only reason why I gave it a 4 rather than a 5.
As for more well-thought out reviews, look elsewhere. I meant to be simple. And want people to know of this product's existance. 98% of people who view hip-hop as low-brow have never heard this album, without a question.
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