Pitchfork

In 2002, hip-hop met Harry Nilsson on Blackalicious' Blazing Arrow, and it was good. Now DJ/producer Chief Xcel and emcee Gift of Gab are back in the lab, mixing up similar chocolate nutty concoctions for heads, Sacramento and beyond. The two are laying tracks for their highly anticipated next album on MCA Records and are coming off a short winter tour along the West Coast and Rockies. Following the outstanding response to their major label debut, the guys have blessed us with "It's Going Down" on the Brown Sugar original motion picture soundtrack, and are also working individually with their Quannum labelmates on new projects for the year to come.

Gift of Gab recently collaborated with Lateef the Truth Speaker to cover "Kalakuta Show" for Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti, a fundraiser to fight AIDS in Africa. Chief Xcel has been working with the Portland, Oregon group Lifesavas on their third album on Quannum and is producing his new album with Lateef the Truth Speaker under the moniker Maroons. In case there was any doubt about the positive energy of hip-hop today, check out Blackalicious' greetings for 2003: "It's the birth of a new year symbolizing a clean slate, a chance to rebuild, gain strength and composure as well as momentum, and continue the mashing process involved in the grind. Lucha Libre. Free struggle is what it's all about."