Nia (album)

Nia
Studio album by Blackalicious
Released 1999 (Mo 'Wax)
February 8, 2000 (Quannum)
Recorded 1999
Genre Hip Hop
Length 74:01
Label Mo' Wax / Quannum Projects
Producer Chief Xcel
DJ Shadow
Lyrics Born
Blackalicious chronology
A2G EP
(1999)		 Nia
(2000)		 Blazing Arrow
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
The Independent [2]
Pitchfork Media (7.3/10)[3]
PopMatters (favorable)[4]
RapReviews [5]
Robert Christgau (A-)[6]
Rolling Stone [7]

Nia is the debut full-length album by American hip hop duo Blackalicious, released in Europe in late 1999 by Mo' Wax and later released in the United States by Quannum Projects with a slightly altered track list.

Contents

Reception

Nia received extremely positive reviews from music critics such as Rapreviews.com's Steve Juon, who said "This album is the answer to the question, "What's been lacking in hip-hop lately?.".[8]Allmusic gave it a near perfect rating of 4.5/5 calling it "an album that stakes the claim of Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab as not only the best pair of rappers in the underground, but also the best pair of producers."[9] PopMatters added that it "renews your faith in the power and potential of hip-hop."[10] Daily Vault's Ben Ehrenreich gave the album an "A" and said:[11]

Nia contains a perfect balance of upbeat bangers and slow-paced grooves. There is even the excellent “Ego Trip By Nikki Giovanni,” which does nothing but enhance the experience of Nia. Even Blackalicious’s interludes are far superior to the majority of the ones found on many hip-hop albums.

Track listing

# Title Time Producer(s) Performer(s) Sample(s)
1 "Searching" 1:48 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
  • Featuring Erinn Anova
2 "The Fabulous Ones" 2:59 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
3 "Do This My Way" 4:48 Lyrics Born Gift of Gab
  • Featuring Lyrics Born
4 "Deception" 5:10 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
5 "A to G" 2:23 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
6 "Cliff Hanger" 6:20 DJ Shadow Gift of Gab
7 "Shallow Days" 4:19 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
8 "Ego Trip by Nikki Giovanni" 1:43 Chief Xcel Nikki Giovanni and Erinn Anova
9 "You Didn't Know That Though" 4:34 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
10 "If I May" 3:55 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
  • Featuring Erinn Anova and Lateef
11 "Dream Seasons" 3:44 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
12 "Trouble (Eve of Destruction)" 4:48 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
13 "Smithzonian Institute of Rhyme" 4:27 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
  • Featuring Lateef
  • Contains a sample of "Colonial Mentality" by Fela Kuti
14 "As the World Turns" 4:23 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
  • Featuring Erinn Anova
15 "Reanimation" 5:40 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
16 "Beyonder" 4:05 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
17 "Making Progress" 3:10 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
18 "Sleep" 3:53 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
19 "Finding" 1:53 Chief Xcel Gift of Gab
  • Featuring Erinn Anova

Trivia

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ The Independent review
  3. ^ Pitchfork Media review
  4. ^ PopMatters review
  5. ^ RapReviews review
  6. ^ Robert Christgau review
  7. ^ Rolling Stone review
  8. ^ Juon, Steve (April 6, 2000). "Blackalicious :: Nia :: Quannum". Rapreviews.com. http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2000_04_nia.html. 
  9. ^ John, Bush (George Bush's son). "Nia". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r465653. 
  10. ^ Patrick, Jones. "Blackalicious: Nia PopMatters Music Review". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/b/blackalicious-nia.shtml. 
  11. ^ Ehrenreich, Ben (2007-01-24). "The Daily Vault Album Reviews: Nia". Daily Vault. http://www.dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=4689. 

External links

Quannum Projects
Groups
Members
Albums
EPs
See also