The Craft (album)

The Craft
Studio album by
Blackalicious
ReleasedSeptember 27, 2005 (2005-09-27)
GenreHip hop
Length58:11
LabelAnti-
ProducerChief Xcel
Blackalicious chronology
Blazing Arrow
(2002) 		The Craft
(2005) 		Imani Vol. 1
(2015)
Singles from The Craft
  1. "Your Move"
    Released: 2005
  2. "Powers"
    Released: 2006

The Craft is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Blackalicious.[1] It was released on Anti- on September 27, 2005.[2] Chief Xcel said, "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."[3] It peaked at number 102 on the Billboard 200 chart.[4] As of 2015, it has sold 67,000 copies in the US.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. Clubfavorable[7]
Robert ChristgauA−[8]
The Guardian[9]
HipHopDX[10]
Pastefavorable[11]
Pitchfork7.4/10[12]
PopMatters[13]
Stylus MagazineB[14]
XLR8Rfavorable[15]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1]

Jack Booty of Prefix gave the album a 7.0 out of 10, saying, "[Chief] 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."[16]

Exclaim! placed it at number 6 on the "Hip-Hop: Year in Review 2005" list.[17]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."World of Vibrations" (featuring Ledisi)
5:02
2."Supreme People"
4:03
3."Rhythm Sticks"
  • Mosley
  • Parker
4:36
4."Powers"
  • Martel
  • Mosley
  • Parker
  • Salters
  • Ségal
  • Underdue
3:47
5."Your Move" (featuring Lifesavas)
  • Mosley
  • Parker
3:55
6."Lotus Flower" (featuring George Clinton)
  • Martel
  • Mosley
  • Parker
  • Salters
  • Ségal
  • Underdue
4:12
7."My Pen and Pad"
  • Mosley
  • Parker
2:02
8."Side to Side" (featuring Lateef and Pigeon John)
4:36
9."Automatique" (featuring Floetry)
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)
3:51
13."Ego Sonic War Drums" (featuring P.E.A.C.E.)
5:57
14."The Craft"Mosley, Parker3:46
Total length:58:11

Charts

Chart Peak
position
US Billboard 200[4] 102
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[18] 5
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[19] 79

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Craft by Blackalicious". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  2. ^ "Blackalicious Polishes Its 'Craft'". Billboard. June 2, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  3. ^ "Blackalicious Unveil The Craft". IGN. June 2, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Blackalicious: Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  5. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on August 25, 2015.
  6. ^ Bush, John. "Blackalicious - The Craft". AllMusic. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  7. ^ Rabin, Nathan (October 12, 2005). "Blackalicious: The Craft". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Blackalicious". Christgau's Consumer Guide. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  9. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (September 23, 2005). "Blackalicious, The Craft". The Guardian. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  10. ^ Tardio, Andres (November 22, 2005). "Blackalicious - The Craft". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  11. ^ Howe, Brian (September 27, 2005). "Blackalicious - The Craft". Paste. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  12. ^ Murphy, Matthew (September 29, 2005). "Blackalicious: The Craft". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  13. ^ Stirling, Stephen (October 3, 2005). "Blackalicious: The Craft". PopMatters. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  14. ^ Passantino, Dom (September 30, 2005). "Blackalicious - The Craft". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  15. ^ Thill, Scott (December 1, 2005). "Blackalicious: The Craft". XLR8R. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  16. ^ Booty, Jack (October 3, 2005). "Blackalicious: The Craft". Prefix. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  17. ^ Dix, Noel (January 1, 2006). "Hip-Hop: Year in Review 2005". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  18. ^ "Blackalicious: Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  19. ^ "Blackalicious: Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2018.

Further reading