Back on the beats: When Blackalicious’ first album, Nia, was released in 1999, critics praised the duo for their rap skills, production style, and ability to push hip-hop in a new direction. Following up with the equally compelling Blazing Arrow (2002) and The Craft (2005), Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab took 10 years to release Imani, Vol. 1 in 2015, and stayed true to their formula of positive vision, verbal dexterity, and lyrical eloquence combined with smart, expansive sonic beats. On the road to celebrate their 20th anniversary, the Sacramento group is sure to deliver its popular “Alphabet Aerobics.”
Related stories
McGill/McHale Trio
The McGill/McHale Trio formed in 2014 when brothers Anthony and Demarre McGill—clarinetist and flutist, respectively—were joined by pianist Michael McHale to perform at Bowling Green University in Ohio. Since then, the acclaimed artists—Anthony was the New York Philharmonic’s first Black principal musician and a social activist who won the Avery Fisher Prize in 2020—have combined […]
Author Event: Kelsey Johnson
If gazing into the boundless night sky prompts existential questions—“Where does it all come from? What does it all mean?”—you’ll want to open UVA Astronomy Professor Kelsey Johnson’s latest book. In Into the Unknown: The Quest to Understand the Mysteries of the Cosmos, Johnson doesn’t necessarily answer all the cosmic quandaries that confound us, but […]
Brookhouse
Built on a base of rock, Latin jazz, and Americana music, Richmond’s Brookhouse blends a bilingual body of work carried by driving rhythms and sultry strings. Featuring a mix of acoustic and electric songs, English and Spanish lyrics, and earnest, mysterious songwriting, the band celebrates a mission to demonstrate that we all contain multitudes. See […]
