Nia Free MP3, Song Download, Lyrics, Album Track List

Blackalicious

Nia

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Song	Lyrics	Save	Buy
PLAY QUEUE 1 Searching		save
PLAY QUEUE 2 The Fabulous Ones		save
PLAY QUEUE 3 Do This My Way		save
PLAY QUEUE 4 Deception		save
PLAY QUEUE 5 A To G		save
PLAY QUEUE 6 Cliff Hanger		save
PLAY QUEUE 7 Shallow Days		save
PLAY QUEUE 8 Ego Trip by Nikki Giovanni		save
PLAY QUEUE 9 You Didn't Know That Though		save
PLAY QUEUE 10 If I May		save
PLAY QUEUE 11 Dream Seasons		save
PLAY QUEUE 12 Trouble		save
PLAY QUEUE 13 Smithsonian Institute of Rhyme		save
PLAY QUEUE 14 As the World Turns		save
PLAY QUEUE 15 Reanimation		save
PLAY QUEUE 16 Beyonder		save
PLAY QUEUE 17 Making Progress		save
PLAY QUEUE 18 Sleep		save
PLAY QUEUE 19 Finding		save

MOG Editorial Review

With the release of their debut album just as the new decade began, duo Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab managed to push the spirit of hip-hop's "golden age" into the 21st century with Nia. While there are plenty of jazzy vibes similar to the socially conscious hip-hop of years past, there's a grittier, modern bite to not only Xcel's beats but the duo's attempts at deconstructing the genre's stereotypes in each and every rhyme. While the DJ Shadow-produced "Cliff Hanger" is the rare throwback exception to this idea, the rest of Nia shows that their patience in releasing a full-length led to a fully realized sound, one that even gets to the bottom of listeners' exception of gangster culture on standout track "Shallow Days."
AMG Review of Nia

John Bush
All Music Guide

After recording a string of singles and EPs stretching back to 1994, the Blackalicious duo finally released their full-length debut, Nia, in early 2000. It's an album that stakes the claim of Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab as not only the best pair of rappers in the underground, but also the best pair of producers. As could be expected from an urban-underground crew, Blackalicious look back to earthy jazz-funk, rare-groove, and sampladelic old-school rap for their sound. Still, the productions on tracks like the great opening bout "The Fabulous Ones," "Do This My Way," and the tongue-twisting alphabet song "A to G" are much rawer and deeper -- and just plain better -- than most any underground-rap crew could manage. And as good as these tracks are, the raps are even better. Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab stay deep in the groove, switching between straight-ahead solo rhyming, sing-speak vocals, and one-two choruses with almost as many rapping styles as there are tracks. There's just a little too much material here -- 19 tracks spread across 74 minutes -- but Nia is an excellent tribute to the growing vitality of the rap underground.