Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow

I could tell you what Blazing Arrow sounds like, but are words ever descriptive enough? Not really. I can tell you for certain that all the artists that are featured on the new album are “A-list”. This’ll take a second: Zach De La Rocha, Ben Harper, Saul Williams, ?uestlove (The Roots), Chali 2Na and Cut Chemist (Jurassic 5), Rakaa and Babu (Dilated Peoples), Gil Scott-Heron, KeKe Wyatt, Jaguar Wright, Tracey Moore (Jazzyfatnastees), Money Mark, James Poyser, Paul Humphrey, Sean Lennon, Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto), DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born, Lateef the Truth Speaker, Joyo Velarde, Erinn Anova, and the Lifesavas. …Good grief! Is that not enough great artists on one album? I don’t know what else you can ask for? Now, I know I’ve seen an artist list like this fall short before – not the case this time. The rhymes are fresh, the melodies satisfying, the hooks are memorable, and each guest is cleverly implanted into their respective track. Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab knew exactly who each person on the album would be, and what they would do on each song. I will say that I’m a bit disappointed in the use of Zach De La Rocha. He’s done that “screaming thing” so much that it was a bit too predictable when I heard him chime in on “Release Pt. 1”. But, let us not dwell on the negative points of the CD. What are the good points? Watch out for Lateef The Truth Speaker’s infectious verse on “4000 Miles”, the grooving “Aural Pleasure”, and Ben Harper’s beautiful vocals on “Brain Washers” – there are so many more though, you’ll just have to hear it. You know what hip-hop sounds like. You know if you like hip-hop or not. Therefore, you’d probably already know whether Blazing Arrow is something you would like to purchase, let alone listen to. I won’t lie; to try and described it as something other than what it actually is, just so you’ll give it a chance, would be injustice to you as a consumer. Nevertheless, it seems the hip-hop community has noticeably split in the past few years. You have the underground and the mainstream, with both sounding intrinsically different. It’s true that Blackalicious fits the first category more, but this is the kind of album that shows what can be done with the medium on both sides of the fence. [www.blackalicious.com]