Critical Mass 2002, Part 2

10. BLACKALICIOUS

Blazing Arrow

(MCA)

Now that the majors—particularly MCA—have decided to play patron to middle of the road, once underground hip-hop groups like Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, and Blackalicious, the infusion of cash is making it sonically exciting again. Chief Xcel, producer, uses the looser purse-strings to unleash a super-complete high tech hijacking vintage soul hybrid that's damn moving. Gift of Gab, rapper, has technical chops for days, but his subject matter is a little stale at this point—"be positive, love yourself" starts sounding Hallmark rather quickly. But in terms of fashioning a new direction for a sagging realm of rap, this does it.

REISSUES: Parallax Corporation Cocadisco (Disko B) This was originally issued last year, but it was on the teeny Dutch label Viewlexx, so everybody, even the underground techno snobs who dig for this stuff, missed it. This shit is so sinister and druggy that 10 years of electronica looks like limp wallpaper next to it. The producers—I-f and Intergalactic Gary—exhumed the stunningly strange and long, long forgotten (never knew it existed in the first place) genre Italo-disco and updated it just enough to bump on a home stereo. The sound of hooking up in the bathroom at a club, then groping on the floor afterward to find your last shred of dignity, not finding it, and then going out to dance anyway.