Search - Blackalicious :: The Craft

This is the kind of album that divides fans. On one side, there are the ones that will see the Bay Area hip-hop duo composed of rapper Gift of Gab and producer Chief Xcel taking a logical step forward, recruiting high-profile guests (George Clinton, Floetry) and banking on a more commercial sound with effervescent R&B tracks like "Powers," "World of Vibrations" and "Lotus Flower." Then there are those that will lament the passing of the band's vintage, more meaningful sound. As if the crew was expecting the cynics to turn up to the party, midway through the album dramatically shifts gears--out goes the pop and in comes the soul via "The Fall & Rise of Elliot Brown" and "Black Diamonds & Pearls." You might suspect West Coast conscious rap contemporaries Black Eyed Peas stood at the very same crossroads before they sold their first million. --Aidin Vaziri