The Craft (album)

The Craft
Studio album by Blackalicious
Released September 27, 2005
Genre Hip Hop
Label ANTI-
Quannum Projects
Producer Chief Xcel
Blackalicious chronology

Blazing Arrow
(2002)		 The Craft
(2005)

The Craft is the third full-length album by hip hop duo Blackalicious, released on ANTI- on September 27, 2005. The group worked with Grammy Award-winning engineer Russell Elevado whose previous work includes D'Angelo's Voodoo, Alicia Keys' Songs in A Minor, and Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun. Chief Xcel went on to describe him as Blackalicious' third member. Xcel explained his thoughts on the album:[1]

The Craft is our passion to bring discipline to this music, the passion to keep growing, keep stretching, keep doing things we haven't before. The craft is what we live for.

Production

The album was solely produced by Chief Xcel. It contains much more live instrumentation than on previous Blackalicious albums. Prefix Magazine described the production:

Xcel's production doesn't stray very far from its R&B and soul influences, but this time it comes without almost any samples, relying sometimes on players from a homebrewed funk band to create clearance-free beats instead.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [3]
HipHopDX.com [4]
Okayplayer [5]
Pitchfork Media (7.4/10)[6]
PopMatters (9/10)[7]
RapReviews.com (10/10)[8]
Robert Christgau A−[9]
Stylus Magazine (B)[10]
Tiny Mix Tapes [11]

Initial critical response to The Craft was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 80, based on 22 reviews.[12]

Track listing

All songs produced by Chief Xcel.

No. TitleWriter(s)Notes Length
1. "World of Vibrations" (featuring Ledisi)X. Mosley, T. Parker
  • Additional vocals by Joy King and KWEEN
 5:02
2. "Supreme People"  S. Martel, Mosley, Parker, H. Salters, V. Ségal, T. Underdue  4:03
3. "Rhythm Sticks"  Mosley, Parker
  • Contains interlude with additional vocals by Robert Collins, Nyra Dynyese, Brad Kobylczak, KWEEN and Noa Schnall
 4:36
4. "Powers"  Martel, Mosley, Parker, Salters, Ségal, Underdue
  • Additional vocals by Ledisi and KWEEN
 3:47
5. "Your Move" (featuring Lifesavas)Mosley, Parker  3:55
6. "Lotus Flower" (featuring George Clinton)Martel, Mosley, Parker, Salters, Ségal, Underdue
  • Additional vocals by Joy King and KWEEN
 4:12
7. "My Pen and Pad"  Mosley, Parker  2:02
8. "Side to Side" (featuring Lateef and Pigeon John)L. Daumont, J. Dust, Mosley, Parker 4:36
9. "Automatique" (featuring Floetry)M. Ambrosius, Mosley, Parker, N. Stewart  4:07
10. "The Fall and Rise of Elliot Brown"  F. Leaneir, Mosley, Parker 3:55
11. "Black Diamonds and Pearls" (featuring Ledisi and Larry Saunders)Mosley, Parker  4:22
12. "Give It to You" (featuring KWEEN and Lyrics Born)Mosley, Parker, T. Shimura  3:51
13. "Ego Sonic War Drums" (featuring P.E.A.C.E.)M. Davis, Martel, Mosley, Parker, Salters, Ségal
  • Contains interlude with additional vocals by Larry Saunders
 5:57
14. "The Craft"  Mosley, Parker  3:46

Album chart positions

Year Album Chart positions
Billboard 200 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Top Independent Albums
2005 The Craft 102 79 5

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Jack Booty (2005-09-27). "Blackalicious: The Craft". Prefixmag.com. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  3. ↑ The Craft (album) at AllMusic
  4. ↑ HipHopDX.com review
  5. ↑ Okayplayer review
  6. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  7. ↑ Popmatters review
  8. ↑ RapReviews.com
  9. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  10. ↑ Stylus Magazine review
  11. ↑ Tiny Mix Tapes review
  12. ↑ "Blackalicious:The Craft (2005): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-19.

External links