BeatRoute Magazine B.C. print e-edition - June 2016

BLACKALICIOUS
contributing to the continuum with tongue twisting antics
After more than two decades of rock
solid beats and legendary rhymes,
there’s still a lot of momentum behind
Blackalicous and the hip-hop group’s two
members, Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel. This
year marks the 17th anniversary of their
EP, A2G, which hosts tracks like the insane
lyrical head-spinner “Alphabet Aerobics”
(“Detonate a dime of dank daily doing dough/
Demonstrations, Don Dada on the down low”
– and that’s just for the letter D.) They’re
Over 20 years into their career and Blackalicious are still changing the game.
also continuing to tour and receive praise for
their latest studio album, last year’s release,
Imani Vol. 1.
Xcel says there’s a tie-in between touring
and creating new music. In fact, the Blackalicious
DJ explains that collecting records
from around the world has contributed to the
foundation of their sound. “Those things that
we discovered, those are things we constantly
learn from,” he says. “You get to the point
where you revisit things you may not have
listened to for 10 to 15 years and learn something
new from it. There’s also the piece of it in
terms of just the craft, and that is being able to
learn from those things by examining them and
then going in and musically taking it to another
level of going in a new direction.”
If you speak to anyone who’s familiar with
Blackalicious, they would likely describe the
duo as ‘classic.’ Classic because of their dope,
playful beats, but also because of the journey
Gift of Gab’s tongue-twisting lyricism takes you
on. Xcel believes lyricism is something that’s
never really gone away from rap. “We’re at
the point now where certain artists can push
popular culture, and push the pendulum. So the
pendulum shifts back in the direction of great
lyricists,” he says. “Each generation has to
have its own vanguard. It takes a generation of
having its own vanguard to push the intention
of the art form or certain aspects of the art
form back into whether you want to call it the
mainstream, or the limelight or back into the
forefront of people’s consciousness. I think the
current generation of people like Kendrick Lamar,
Ab-Soul and Jay Rock - who are all very
lyrical - they help do that. Because you have to
realize it’s all a continuum, and each generations’
goal is to contribute to the continuum.”
As for their own continuum, Xcel says
ELECTRONICS DEPT.
there’s a lot to look out for, including their next
album, Imani Vol. 2, and a world tour with
stops in the UK and eventually Africa. Being
able to tour and perform for audiences around
the world is something Xcel takes pride in. He
says there’s an everlasting importance of being
able to knock out a live show.
“I think that’s a vital part. That’s the second
dimension of what we do, being able to make
the music literally come alive. It comes alive
from interaction, and it’s an interactive experience.
Once you’re able to perform and execute
live what we executed in the studio, then its’ all
full circle at that point.”
The duo has most certainly come full circle,
and throughout the course of this journey
amassed twenty-plus years of hip hop fans,
including rad dads.
“We had a show in San Francisco and in the
front row, there was a nine and ten-year-old.
They were there with their father, who was
probably mid-thirties. So we literally see every
age demographic. I mean, you’ll see from the
youngest of the young to seniors; we’ll see
people in their sixties. It’s really a cool thing,”
Xcel says.
Blackalicious perform at Fortune
Sound Club on June 11.
by Katharine Sawchuk
case/lang/veirs is a one-of-a-kind event from three phenomenal, self-driven artists:
avant-rock icon Neko Case, legendary musical nomad k.d. lang,
and indie folk star Laura Veirs.
OWN IT 06.17
Bruce Cockburn • Oysterband • Oh Pep! • Lord Huron
The new pornographers • The Wainwright Sisters
M. Ward • Mexican Institute of Sound • San Fermin
Little Scream • Jolie Holland and Samantha Parton
Shane Koyczan and the Short story long • Yemen Blues
Birds of Chicago • Jojo Abot • Land of Talk • Lucy Ward
Martin and Eliza Carthy • Élage Diouf • Lisa O’Neill
Nahko and Medicine for the People • The Americans
The weather Station • Hubby Jenkins • Cian Nugent
CW Stoneking • Sarah Jane Scouten • Chris Pureka
Terra Lightfoot • Mandolin Orange • Mike edel
Faris Amine
Ten Strings and a Goat Skin + MORE
thefestival.bc.ca
60+ ARTISTS FROM 18 COUNTRIES ON 7 BEACHFRONT STAGES!
June 2016 ELECTRONICS DEPT.
21