Dates/times:
Saturday, December 21 2013 at 09:00 PM (Get Tickets)
Location:
Center for the Arts
606 6th st.
Crested Butte, CO 81224
Event Description:
In a hip-hop career that has stretched past a decade, Blackalicious has earned respect the old-fashioned way–rising through honesty, commitment, and artistry. Blackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab (born Tim Parker) and DJ/producer Chief Xcel (born Xavier Mosley). They are noted for Gift of Gab’s often “tongue-twisting”, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel’s “classic” beats.
Like a few other West Coast rap acts, including the Pharcyde andJurassic 5, Blackalicious has generally favored what hip-hoppers call the “positive tip”; in other words, its lyrics have often been spiritual and uplifting rather than violent or misogynous. Like a lot of experimental alternative rappers, Blackalicious can be quirky and eccentric; nonetheless, spirituality is a big part of the group’s music. Although Blackalicious wasn’t formed until the early ’90s, its members had known each other since the late ’80s.
Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel first met in Sacramento, CA, in 1987 when they were students at John F. Kennedy High School. The two went their separate ways after Gift of Gab graduated from Kennedy High in 1989, but they were reunited in Davis, CA, in 1992. By that time, Xcel had become a student at the University of California at Davis and the Gift of Gabhad moved to Davis to form Blackalicious with him.