Blackalicious

When thinking about Blackalicious, the knee-jerk reaction is to compare their truthful style and soulful message to the feuds, the battles, the healed gunshot wounds and the Cristal cliques that have become synonymous with mainstream hip-hop; and to say that Blackalicious is still good despite not catering to any of these stereotypes. But why compare them to what they aren’t? All great artists stand on their own, regardless of what their peers are putting out. Blackalicious—featuring lyricist The Gift of Gab and DJ/Producer Chief Xcel—is its own entity. They keep their ears to the streets, but their heads above the bullshit. According to Chief Xcel they do what they do, how they do and, damn, it sounds nice.  

You’re an avid record collector. When did you start your collection?
Probably when I was about 15. No, that’s not true. When I was around 12 I really started collecting 12-inch [records] at a very, very fast and furious pace.

Is it possible to have a top five?
It changes with me, because I’m always looking for new things. I have favorite records from different genres and different periods of music. I hate saying top five because after the interview I’m like, “Ah, forgot about this and forgot about that.” You know.

Are there any albums that you’ve been hunting down, but just haven’t been able to get a hold of?
Yeah, there’s always those gems that elude you. There’s a record by a group called Blackout that I’ve been looking for for years that I still haven’t found. There’s always those little diamonds in the rough.



You’ve been doing your thing for about 18 years. Do you still get nervous before a show, or with your upcoming album release?
I don’t really get nervous before shows. I mean, there’s been a couple times. When we did the shows with Alicia Keys up in Canada; those were all in these huge arenas. That was one of the first times I was nervous, but it wasn’t so much because of the crowd, but moreso because I didn’t feel like we had had time to do a proper sound check. I wasn’t able to really calibrate the turntables and everything. But for the most part I really, thoroughly love and enjoy,
and feel blessed to be doin’ what I do, so I never really get nervous.

On your upcoming album The Craft, you collaborate with George Clinton, Floetry and other contributing artists. What was it like working with those cats?
Every time you collaborate, it’s a learning process. It’s like another day at school, because everybody has different ways that they access their creative energy. So to be able to work with, learn from and study it, is always a blessing.

How would you characterize The Craft?
The Craft is a demonstration in the chemistry between The Gift of Gab and myself. Our ability to go in and just do what we do. To create music, honestly, naturally and freely.

Your music is inspiring, and even spiritual. Has [Blackalicious] ever met any opposition from fans, or other artists, to the message that you’re putting out?
Nah, never. I think people always respect honesty. As long as you’re doing what you do with integrity and are truly being you, people always respect that.

Since the release of Blazing Arrow, Kanye West came out with “Jesus Walks.” For a relatively spiritual song, it was met with widespread acceptance. Do you think that will have any impact on Blackalicious, or The Craft?
We really focus on making our records. We stay aware of what’s going on around us, but I think, what makes us us, is that we speak from our viewpoint and tell our story in each thing that we do. We’ve never been the type of group to say, “Okay, this record is out, so we’re gonna do that.” Or, “That record is hot, so we’re gonna do that.” For us, that’s not doing what we do naturally. We just get in our zone and we make our records.

You said you just do what you do, but are there any up-and-comers you’re keeping an eye on, or you see doin’ big things?
I’m always listening to new music. The thing that’s amazing about the world of art is that it’s always changing, and it’s always developing, and it’s always growing. As a result, your creative vocabulary constantly expands. For me, there’s a lot of artists out there that I’m fans of, and whose music I really dig. I love music, man.

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