The Craft from Blackalicious: New genre
Sergio Patterson
Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: Entertainment
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Music, life, beauty - all words that describe Blackalicious's new album "The Craft."
Blackalicious is a Bay Area-based group which consists of Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel. Gift of Gab takes care of the lyrics and Chief Xcel controls the production.
The Craft combines funk, soul, rock and roll, jazz, hip-hop, country and any other genre of music that you can imagine. This rare blend of styles and sounds create an appealing new sound. Work on the craft began two years ago, and all the time, determination led to an instant classic in hip-hop history.
The album is filled with numerous genre-bending tracks. The four tracks that stood out most were "Automatique," "The Craft," "The Fall and Rise of Elliot Brown" and "Black Diamonds and Pearls." The production on these four tracks was exceptional and Gift of Gab provides the vocals on each.
The song "Automatique" features the group Floetry. They give the song a classy R&B feel, which soothes the mind. The MC from Floetry provides elegant lyrics which make the song come alive.
My favorite track is "The Fall and Rise of Elliot Brown," where Gift of Gab examines the highs and lows of this man's life.
Gift of Gab raps, "While mama's working two jobs and Daddy's gone away, and police be throwing you even vibes even at a young age, and it was like he was living in a cage, from the outside world, cuz he just couldn't relate, and then life really began, and trifleness was a given when he graduated. . ."
" He hustles and goes to jail and he has company. In the form of 50 percent of the cats he grew up with, gets out, goes back, just like a puppet, caught in the genocidal trap of the government. They don't rehabilitate. They just be loving it, When brothers are in the pen, cuz that's big money making to them."
The last verse highlights when Elliot begins to truly realize his purpose on earth.
Gift of Gab raps, "For some time he sat and pondered, trapped in a cell filled with criminals and convicts. Time had arrived to confront the real problem, looking within not without.
Blackalicious is a Bay Area-based group which consists of Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel. Gift of Gab takes care of the lyrics and Chief Xcel controls the production.
The Craft combines funk, soul, rock and roll, jazz, hip-hop, country and any other genre of music that you can imagine. This rare blend of styles and sounds create an appealing new sound. Work on the craft began two years ago, and all the time, determination led to an instant classic in hip-hop history.
The album is filled with numerous genre-bending tracks. The four tracks that stood out most were "Automatique," "The Craft," "The Fall and Rise of Elliot Brown" and "Black Diamonds and Pearls." The production on these four tracks was exceptional and Gift of Gab provides the vocals on each.
The song "Automatique" features the group Floetry. They give the song a classy R&B feel, which soothes the mind. The MC from Floetry provides elegant lyrics which make the song come alive.
My favorite track is "The Fall and Rise of Elliot Brown," where Gift of Gab examines the highs and lows of this man's life.
Gift of Gab raps, "While mama's working two jobs and Daddy's gone away, and police be throwing you even vibes even at a young age, and it was like he was living in a cage, from the outside world, cuz he just couldn't relate, and then life really began, and trifleness was a given when he graduated. . ."
" He hustles and goes to jail and he has company. In the form of 50 percent of the cats he grew up with, gets out, goes back, just like a puppet, caught in the genocidal trap of the government. They don't rehabilitate. They just be loving it, When brothers are in the pen, cuz that's big money making to them."
The last verse highlights when Elliot begins to truly realize his purpose on earth.
Gift of Gab raps, "For some time he sat and pondered, trapped in a cell filled with criminals and convicts. Time had arrived to confront the real problem, looking within not without.
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