Sacramento’s Blackalicious is one of those groups in Antiquiet’s DNA, among a handful of artists that consistently, deeply inspire us, and deeply inspire tomorrow’s best artists, yet are forced to take a backseat to silly passing fads in mainstream media coverage. We’re only here to shine a spotlight on these artists. We hope you already know how good Blackalicious is. But let’s not take any chances, and make sure.
Blackalicious was on a short-list to headline our SXSW showcase this year, but ultimately decided to stay home and finish their new album. That reason was more than good enough for us; At the time, we didn’t even know they had one cooking. Still, they promised to reconnect with us later. And those sorts of promises are made and broken every day in Los Angeles, but 5 months later, we got a call. Gab and Xcel were coming through LA for some business, and were down to come into Swing House for an Antiquiet Session. Of course we jumped on it, and we couldn’t be happier with the results: Blackalicious rolled in and assaulted us with a mix of our favorite tracks along with a taste of the new album and an on-the-spot freestyle, in one take, presented here with no cuts.
That new album is called Imani, Vol. 1, the first of a trilogy that will be rolled out through 2016. It features On Fire Tonight as previously reported, as well as the songs Blacka and Ashes To Ashes sampled in the session, and is available for pre-order on iTunes. It finds the duo in fine form, ready to be blasted from your maxed-out car stereo as you roll around town with the top down in the apocalyptic sunshine this winter.
