blackalicious - melodica ep,nia,blazing arrow
part of the quannum crew (in fact where does one start and the other begin) this lot basically started out a long time ago with dj shadow on the decks, the first release being heralded a stone classic.
the melodica ep is quality old school release with superb scratching/production. this is where the hip-hop revival really hit for me.
completely thug/gangsta free this is well worth tracking down, several years later - once shadow had become the world leader that he deserved blackalicious released their first full lengther 'nia', this release is not quite as solid as melodica, but continues the path of old school vibes with well flowing rhyme and reason, with several tracks being a throwback to earlier tracks.
superb stuff. once again things went strange at mo'wax and the quannum collective went off and signed to ninjatune and dj shadow got signed to a different major. this lot ended up on mca, still its the same sound/style/crew production sound. there's still guest appearances from jurrasic 5,dilated peoples, both hip-hop crews that deal with the same vein of hiphop - happy vibes/intelligent lyrics and funky soul samples/loops.
this lot deserve everything that eminem has and more. if only the masses listened to quality instead of the gutter.
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