dedleg.com

As I fall farther down the Blackalicious hole, I’m increasingly aware of how little I want to ever climb back out. I realize that’s an opening sentence that can be taken all kinds of wrong ways, but if it wasn’t for little phrases like “blackalicious hole” my Google ranking would just be shot to hell.

The duo’s 2002 sophomore album, Blazing Arrow, is nothing less than incredible. It’s hard to quite compare it to their debut since both works are surprising, spell-binding, and utterly complete. And despite how fucking good Nia was, through the immense talents of emcee Gift of Gab and producer Chief Xcel, Blazing Arrow actually improves on it.

The album is bursting with highlight tracks, but I think I’m most impressed with “Release”, a sprawling nine-minute monster featuring not only impressive guest spots by Saul Williams and Lyrics Born, but also an appearance by Rage Against The Machine’s Zach De La Rocha for fuck’s sake! It’s a mindblowing track. There’s a whole lot of innovation and creativity in underground hip hop, but this song stands apart — easily one of the most deftly-handled conceptual undertakings in the genre I’ve ever heard.

Go ahead, press play… just be prepared to completely fail to grasp it in just one listen. There’s nothing wrong with feeling a little inadequate sometimes.