Blazing Arrow
by Blackalicious

This is an album with a playful, almost cartoonish mood throughout its running time. And just as if it were actually aimed towards children, - who as a general rule have a shorter attention span - it keeps changing style after style to keep you engaged, while maintaining a surprising and refreshing positive/optimistic attitude ("Free! Like a bird out in the wind in the night Like a 747 to LA that's in flight Free! Like a garden flourishing in the wind Like a student bout to do it when he's graduatin' Free! From any of the energy perception Can never be defined create the definition within Free! Just lovin' life itself and never pretend to be Anything other than the man I was meant to be Travel through time and get a glimpse of the centuries To come a better day is promised remember Free, like my nephew in a few months about to be out the penitentiary"). All these aspects lead to an album that provides tons of fun.

From buzzdainer 03/17/2020 17:06 | #248818

Sacramento duo Blackalicious is fronted by one of the most underrated MC's in the business, Gift of Gab, whose raps are jam-packed with internal rhymes, allusions, metaphors, ten-cent words, and amazing tongue-twisting feats of skill. Blazing Arrow, one of the richest, most captivating albums ever to emerge from the hip hop underground, is surely the Blackalicious release on which these skills are most evident. "4000 Miles," featuring Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 fame, is one of many highlights here: "Your mind is captured with tactics to get you back to the fatness / And you still want to battle just how long does this last? / We have the fashion to classic the pure love satisfaction / Is when the magic is captured live-action ain't tangible." Groovy. Funky. I wish they'd made many more albums, but for me this one hasn't come close yet to wearing out its welcome.

It's a fun hip hop album. I enjoy listening to it, though I wouldn't call it the greatest thing I've ever listened to. I'll definitely be returning to it for more listens!