Blackalicious

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More About

• Chief Xcel
• Blackalicious
• Jesse Froehling
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Hip-Hop and Rap

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If Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel are worried about what the hip-hop world thinks of their group Blackalicious, they don't show it. The Oakland-based duo steers clear of bitches, blunts, and Benjamins, preferring instead to speak of the small treasures and tragedies of real life. "Time and time a brother asks why the rhyme is not laced with the gangster touch. I said, 'Simply because I don't live that way,'" Gab raps on "Shallow Days" from their 2000 debut album, Nia. Since then, Blazing Arrow and The Craft have earned the two a strong following, if little airplay. Blackalicious hasn't strayed from their ideals: intelligent lyrics so sharp they'll cut your ears backed up by Xcel's silky-smooth beats. Today they'll be playing with Sound Tribe Sector 9, those lyric-free purveyors of funk, jazz, and hip-hop. But don't worry: Gab will do all the talking. Showbox at the Market, 1426 1st Ave. 425-556-2392, www.concertsatmarymoor.com. $30.50. 7 p.m. All ages. JESSE FROEHLING
Sat., Aug. 23, 7 p.m., 2008