Watch CBS News

Local Hip-Hop Heroes Play Slim's

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Along with groundbreaking turntable talent DJ Shadow and MC/producer Lyrics Born, hip-hop duo Blackalicous featuring rapper Gift of Gab and producer Chief Xcel first surfaced in the early 1990s from the unlikely location of Davis, California.

The future members of what would become known as the SoleSides crew met at KDVS, the 5000-watt college radio station at the Davis campus of the University of California. Drawn to the hip-hop show by DJ Zen (better known later as hip-hop journalist and author Jeff Chang), the MCs and producers got over their initial feelings of competitiveness to form the SoleSides collective and establish the label of the same name.

In 1994, the imprint issued the debut recorded effort by Blackalicious. Featuring Gab's dauntingly complex rhymes over gritty, cinematic beats courtesy of Xcel and Shadow, the critically lauded Melodica EP established the group and the SoleSides crew as major players on the global hip-hop scene.

It took some time, but the duo eventually followed up on that effort five years later with the equally celebrated A2G EP (with the indelible cuts "Alphabet Aerobics" and "Deception) that led to the acclaimed full-length Nia later that same year. By the time Blackalicious had signed to MCA for Blazing Arrow in 2002, the duo was collaborating in the studio with contemporary hip-hop stars (Charlie 2na of kindred spirits Jurassic 5 and The Roots drummer/producer Questlove) and iconic influences like spoken-word pioneer Gil Scott Heron.

The group took a decade-long break issuing new material after The Craft, their effort for Anti-/Epitaph in 2005. While Blackalicious would still regularly perform live and occasionally tour during the hiatus, most of their focus would be on solo efforts and other projects as well as health issues. Gab struggled with diabetes and eventually received a kidney transplant, though he still managed two albums under his own name and a third as part of the group the Mighty Underdogs during the break.

The ten-year silence came to an end last spring when the duo began releasing songs from a promised trilogy of albums. Announced in part by a Pledge Music campaign, the first disc Imani Vol. 1 came out last fall to wide acclaim. The group hasn't announced any release dates for future volumes of Imani, but Blackalicious headlines this warm-up show at Slim's Friday night ahead of a West Coast swing of live dates scheduled for next month. The duo is joined by fellow locals Fuze the MC (aka Lance Is A Genius) and Pure Powers.

Blackalicious
Friday, May 13, 8 p.m. $25
Slim's

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.