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Blackalicious
Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful production.Edwards, Paul, 2009, '' How to Rap'': The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 322. The duo released four full-length albums: '' Nia'' in 1999, '' Blazing Arrow'' in 2002, '' The Craft'' in 2005, and '' Imani Vol. 1'' in 2015. Gift of Gab died in June 2021. Career 1992–1999: Early years, Quannum Projects, ''Nia'' album While Tim Parker (Gift of Gab) and Xavier Mosley (Chief Xcel) spent their early childhood years in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area respectively, the two first met while attending John F. Kennedy High School in Sacramento, California. At the time, Gift of Gab was known as Gabby T, while Chief Xcel went by the stage name of DJ IceSki. After graduating from Kennedy High in 198 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gift Of Gab (rapper)
Timothy Jerome Parker (October 7, 1970 – June 18, 2021), better known by his stage name Gift of Gab, was an American rapper best known for performing in the Bay Area hip hop duo Blackalicious along with DJ Chief Xcel. He was also a member of Quannum Projects, a Bay Area hip hop crew and record label, and performed and recorded as a solo artist. Life Timothy Jerome Parker was born in 1970 and raised in the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. He had two brothers and a sister at time of death, he also had two sisters that passed before him. He attended high school in Sacramento with his future bandmate Xavier "Chief Xcel" Mosley. In the years leading up to 2020, Parker had suffered from kidney failure and was receiving dialysis multiple times a week. In January 2020, Parker received a kidney transplant. Parker died on June 18, 2021 of natural causes. Collaborations Gift of Gab was featured on Galactic's album '' From the Corner to the Block'' (2007). He collaborate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Craft (album)
''The Craft'' is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Blackalicious. It was released on Anti- on September 27, 2005. Chief Xcel said, "''The Craft'' is our passion to bring discipline to this music, the passion to keep growing, keep stretching, keep doing things we haven't before." It peaked at number 102 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of 2015, it has sold 67,000 copies in the US. Critical reception At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Jack Booty of ''Prefix'' gave the album a 7.0 out of 10, saying, " hiefXcel's production doesn't stray very far from its R&B and soul influences, but this time it comes without almost any samples, relying sometimes on players from a homebrewed funk band to create clearance-free beats instead." ''Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nia (album)
''Nia'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Blackalicious. It was released in Europe by Mo' Wax on August 30, 1999, and later re-released in the United States by Quannum Projects on February 29, 2000, with a slightly altered track listing. Critical reception John Bush of AllMusic called ''Nia'' "an album that stakes the claim of Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab as not only the best pair of rappers in the underground, but also the best pair of producers." Patrick Jones of ''PopMatters'' commented that it "renews your faith in the power and potential of hip-hop." Nathan Rabin of '' The A.V. Club'' said, "Blackalicious' work will strike some listeners as hopelessly naïve and New Age-ish, but ''Nia'' is nevertheless an audacious, uncompromised, enormously promising album by a group with the courage to disregard hip-hop's codes and unwritten rules to create music that is vitally, distinctly its own." ''Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher bas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blazing Arrow
''Blazing Arrow'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo Blackalicious. It was released on MCA Records on April 30, 2002. It peaked at number 49 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Critical reception Steve Huey of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, saying: "All the pieces add up to not just one of the best rap albums of 2002, but one of the richest, most captivating albums to emerge from hip-hop's artsy new underground." Chris Dahlen of ''Pitchfork'' called it "one of those classic summer albums that crams in so much sound and so much life that listening to it is like going to a block party, all-day concert and a family reunion all at the same time." ''Pitchfork'' placed it at number 46 on the "Top 50 Albums of 2002" list. ''Exclaim!'' listed it as one of the Top Ten albums of 2002. ''Kludge A kludge or kluge () is a workaround or quick-and-dirty solution that is clumsy, inelegant, inefficient, difficult to extend and hard to maintain. This term is used in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melodica (EP)
''Melodica'' is the debut EP by American hip hop duo Blackalicious. It was originally released on Solesides in 1994. It was reissued digitally in 2012 with an additional bonus track "Change". Critical reception Lee Meyer of AllMusic gave the EP 3 stars out of 5, calling it "an admirable effort that gives a glimpse of the group's potential." Nate Patrin of ''Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...'' gave the EP a 7.5 out of 10, saying: "This is conscious-minded, lyrically technical underground hip-hop at its rawest and, sometimes, at its most over-the-top ridiculous." In 2015, '' Fact'' placed it at number 69 on the "100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time" list. Track listing References External links * * {{Authority control 1994 debut EPs Bla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lateef The Truthspeaker
Lateef Daumont, better known by his stage name Lateef the Truthspeaker, or mononymously as Lateef, is a hip hop artist from Oakland, California (United States). He is a member of several hip hop groups such as Latyrx, Lateef and the Chief, and the Mighty Underdogs. He was the founding member of the Solesides collective, which became Quannum Projects. Life and career Lateef was raised in East Oakland, where his father was security detail for the Black Panthers. His mother, a Panther medic, was a roommate and political associate of Angela Davis. He is of African American and Puerto Rican descent. He has released several mixtapes such as ''Ahead of the Curve'' (2007), ''Truth Is Love'' (2009), and ''Truth at Sea'' (2011). His solo debut album, ''Firewire'', was released in 2011. It features contributions from Chief Xcel, Del the Funky Homosapien, the Grouch, Lyrics Born, Dan the Automator and DJ Shadow. He was also featured on the songs " Wonderful Night" and "That Old Pair ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lifesavas
Lifesavas is a hip hop group from Portland, Oregon. Their style exhibits tag-team rhymes, matter-of-fact storytelling and a soulful production. The emcee's styles and song writing skills are showcased in the arrangements of a funky collection of subject matter and concepts. Formation Vursatyl and Jumbo met playing basketball and ripping free-style in Portland city parks. Initially working on different projects out of the same makeshift studio, the two decided to join creative forces. DJ Rev Shines joined them, creating a trio. Chief Xcel from Blackalicious discovered the Lifesavas and invited the group to perform in San Francisco with Blackalicious Quannum Projects. Vursatyl was invited to perform backup vocals for Blackalicious during their live performances. Soon after, Jumbo and Shines joined Vursatyl on tour, opening for Quannum artists Blackalicious and Latyrx. That led to a record deal on Quannum Projects in 2003, where they released their debut album ''Spirit In S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyrics Born
Tsutomu "Tom" Shimura (born September 2, 1972), better known by his stage name Lyrics Born (formerly Asia Born), is a Japanese-American rapper, singer, and producer. He is one half of the duo Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker. Early life Shimura was born in Tokyo and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and Berkeley, California. He attended Henry B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida. Career Shimura changed his stage name from Asia Born to Lyrics Born in 1995, citing the desire to ensure that he won fans based on his merits as a rapper rather than his ethnicity. His first studio album, ''Later That Day'', was released on Quannum Projects in 2003. Lyrics Born's collaborations with Lateef the Truthspeaker on Latyrx records often see them trading lyrics back and forth in quick succession. Lyrics Born and Lateef's methodology for writing this type of lyric is described by Lateef in the book '' How to Rap'': "With Latyrx stuff, when we have parts that we're writing that we're both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
How To Rap
''How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'' is a book on hip hop music and rapping by Paul Edwards. It is compiled from interviews with 104 notable rappers who provide insights into how they write and perform their lyrics.Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'', Chicago Review Press. ''How to Rap 2: Advanced Flow & Delivery Techniques'' is a sequel to the book, also on hip hop music and rapping by Paul Edwards. It includes more insights from the interviews done from the first book. Publication ''How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'' was published by Chicago Review Press on December 1, 2009 with a foreword by Kool G Rap. Publishers Weekly states that it “goes into everything from why rappers freestyle to the challenges of collaboration in hip-hop”, and Library Journal says, “instruction ranges over selecting topics and form, editing, rhyming techniques, putting words to music, collaborating, vocal techniques, studio t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mo' Wax
Mo' Wax was a British record label founded by James Lavelle in 1992. The label was not co-founded by Tim Goldsworthy, as is often reported. Steve Finan became co-owner shortly after. Mo' Wax came to recognition for being at the forefront of trip hop, turntablism and alternative hip hop during the mid-1990s. The label is also responsible for bringing attention to the graffiti artist Futura 2000 by using his artwork on many of its releases in the early to mid-1990s. Lavelle signed partial ownership of Mo' Wax over to A&M Records (now part of the Universal Music Group) in 1996. When their deal expired he signed with Beggars Group, who still own some of the catalogue. The name derives from "Mo' Wax Please", the title of a column James Lavelle wrote in the magazine '' Straight No Chaser'' and the Oxford club night he ran. This in turn was influenced by the Freddie Roach LP, ''Mo' Greens Please'' on Blue Note records. The original Mo' Wax logo as used on the early releases w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Shadow was experimenting with a four-track recorder while in high school in Davis, California and began his music career as a disc jockey for the University of California, Davis campus radio station KDVS. During this period he explored the experimental hip-hop style associated with the London-based Mo' Wax record label. His early singles, including "In/Flux" and "Lost and Found (S.F.L.)", were genre-bending, merging elements of funk, rock, hip hop, ambient, jazz, soul, and used-bin found records. Andy Pemberton, a music journalist writing for ''Mixmag'', described the single "In/Flux" as " trip hop", a term that had already been attached to Bristol, England-based groups Massive Attack and Portishead and the Bristol scene in general in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti- (record Label)
Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop ( Sage Francis, The Coup), reggae (Buju Banton, Michael Franti), soul ( Bettye LaVette, Doe Paoro), post-metal (Deafheaven), indie folk ( The Swell Season, Saintseneca), rap rock ( One Day as a Lion), indie rock ( The Dream Syndicate, Islands, Japandroids) and blues (Tom Waits). Founded by Andy Kaulkin, Anti- first gained attention by releasing Tom Waits' Grammy Award-winning ''Mule Variations'' in 1999. Other veteran recording artists such as rhythm and blues singers Solomon Burke, Bettye LaVette and Marianne Faithfull have signed to Anti- after leaving other labels. Andy Kaulkin Kaulkin began working for the Epitaph label. His role was looking after the label's data management system.''Utne'' - Mar.-Apr. 2008 Good Karma in Stereo, At the Anti- label, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |