Nia (album)

Nia
Studio album by Blackalicious
Released August 30, 1999 (1999-08-30)
Recorded 1998–99
Genre Hip hop
Length 70:01
Label Mo' Wax, Quannum Projects
Producer Chief Xcel, Lyrics Born, DJ Shadow
Blackalicious chronology
A2G
(1999)A2G1999		 Nia
(1999)		 Blazing Arrow
(2002)Blazing Arrow2002

Nia is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Blackalicious, consisting of Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel. It was released in Europe by Mo' Wax on August 30, 1999, and later re-released in the United States by Quannum Projects on February 29, 2000, with a slightly altered track list.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Alternative Press4/5[2]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[3]
Muzik[4]
NME6/10[5]
Pitchfork7.3/10[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Spin8/10[9]
The Village VoiceA−[10]

John Bush of AllMusic called Nia "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."[1] Patrick Jones of PopMatters commented that it "renews your faith in the power and potential of hip-hop."[11] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said, "Blackalicious' work will strike some listeners as hopelessly naïve and New Age-ish, but Nia is nevertheless an audacious, uncompromised, enormously promising album by a group with the courage to disregard hip-hop's codes and unwritten rules to create music that is vitally, distinctly its own."[12] Exclaim!'s Del F. Cowie praised the album's "superior conceptual execution and soulful statement".[13]

Nia ranked number 45 on NME's 101 Albums to Hear Before You Die.[14]

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Searching" (featuring Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel1:50
2."The Fabulous Ones"Chief Xcel3:00
3."Do This My Way" (featuring Lyrics Born)Lyrics Born4:49
4."Deception"Chief Xcel5:19
5."A to G"Chief Xcel2:24
6."Cliff Hanger"DJ Shadow6:21
7."Shallow Days"Chief Xcel4:20
8."Ego Trip by Nikki Giovanni" (featuring Nikki Giovanni and Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel1:44
9."You Didn't Know That Though"Chief Xcel4:35
10."If I May" (featuring Erinn Anova and Lateef)Chief Xcel3:45
11."Dream Seasons"Chief Xcel4:49
12."Trouble (Eve of Destruction)"Chief Xcel4:28
13."Smithzonian Institute of Rhyme" (featuring Lateef)Chief Xcel5:28
14."Beyonder"Chief Xcel4:05
15."Making Progress"Chief Xcel3:11
16."As the World Turns" (featuring Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel4:43
17."Sleep"Chief Xcel3:20
18."Finding" (featuring Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel1:50

References

  1. 1 2 Bush, John. "Nia – Blackalicious". AllMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Blackalicious: Nia". Alternative Press (141): 80. April 2000.
  3. ↑ "Blackalicious: Nia". Entertainment Weekly: 86. February 18, 2000.
  4. ↑ Crysell, Andy (December 1999). "Blackalicious: Nia (Mo' Wax)". Muzik (55): 94.
  5. ↑ "Nia". NME. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  6. ↑ Clark, Taylor M. "Blackalicious: Nia". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 4, 2003. Retrieved June 4, 2003.
  7. ↑ Chonin, Neva (April 27, 2000). "Blackalicious: Nia". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 26, 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  8. ↑ Hull, Tom (2004). "Blackalicious". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 75. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ↑ Tompkins, Dave (March 2000). "Blackalicious: Nia". Spin. 16 (3): 151. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  10. ↑ Christgau, Robert (June 27, 2000). "Consumer Guide: Shufferng and Shmiling". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  11. ↑ Jones, Patrick. "Blackalicious: Nia". PopMatters. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  12. ↑ Rabin, Nathan (February 8, 2000). "Blackalicious: Nia". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  13. ↑ Cowie, Del F. (February 1, 2000). "Blackalicious – Nia". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  14. ↑ Pizzorno, Serge. "101 Albums To Hear Before You Die – #45". NME. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
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