Nia (album)

Nia
Studio album by Blackalicious
Released August 24, 1999
Recorded 1998-1999
Genre Hip Hop
Length 74:01
Label Mo' Wax, Quannum Projects
Producer Chief Xcel, Lyrics Born, DJ Shadow
Blackalicious chronology

A2G
(1999)		 Nia
(1999)		 Blazing Arrow
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
The A.V. Club (favorable)[2]
Robert Christgau (A−)[3]
Exclaim! (favorable)[4]
The Independent [5]
Pitchfork Media (7.3/10)[6]
PopMatters (favorable)[7]
Vibe (favorable)[8]

Nia is the first studio album by Blackalicious, American hip hop duo consisting of Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel. It was released in Europe by Mo' Wax in 1999 and later released in the United States by Quannum Projects in 2000 with a slightly altered track list.

Reception

John Bush of AllMusic gave Nia 4 stars out of 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."[1] Patrick Jones of PopMatters commented that it "renews your faith in the power and potential of hip-hop."[7]

Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said, "Blackalicious' work will strike some listeners as hopelessly naïve and New Age-ish, but Nia is nevertheless an audacious, uncompromised, enormously promising album by a group with the courage to disregard hip-hop's codes and unwritten rules to create music that is vitally, distinctly its own."[2]

It ranked number 45 on NME's 101 Albums to Hear Before You Die.[9]

Track listing

No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "Searching" (featuring Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel 1:48
2. "The Fabulous Ones"  Chief Xcel 2:59
3. "Do This My Way" (featuring Lyrics Born)Lyrics Born 4:48
4. "Deception"  Chief Xcel 5:10
5. "A to G"  Chief Xcel 2:23
6. "Cliff Hanger"  DJ Shadow 6:20
7. "Shallow Days"  Chief Xcel 4:19
8. "Ego Trip by Nikki Giovanni" (featuring Nikki Giovanni and Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel 1:43
9. "You Didn't Know That Though"  Chief Xcel 4:34
10. "If I May" (featuring Erinn Anova and Lateef)Chief Xcel 3:45
11. "Dream Seasons"  Chief Xcel 4:49
12. "Trouble (Eve of Destruction)"  Chief Xcel 4:28
13. "Smithzonian Institute of Rhyme" (featuring Lateef)Chief Xcel 4:24
14. "As the World Turns" (featuring Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel 5:40
15. "Reanimation"  Chief Xcel 3:38
16. "Beyonder"  Chief Xcel 4:05
17. "Making Progress"  Chief Xcel 3:10
18. "Sleep"  Chief Xcel 3:53
19. "Finding" (featuring Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel 1:53

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bush, John. "Nia - Blackalicious". AllMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rabin, Nathan (February 8, 2000). "Blackalicious: Nia". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Blackalicious". Robert Christgau. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  4. ↑ Cowie, Del F. (February 1, 2000). "Blackalicious - Nia". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  5. ↑ Perry, Tim (November 27, 2009). "Pop: ALBUM REVIEWS". The Independent. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  6. ↑ Clark, Taylor M. "Blackalicious: Nia". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 4, 2003.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Jones, Patrick. "Blackalicious: Nia". PopMatters. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  8. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (April 2000). "Revolutions". Vibe: 183.
  9. ↑ Pizzorno, Serge. "101 Albums To Hear Before You Die - #45". NME. Retrieved February 14, 2015.

External links