Nia (album)

Nia
Studio album by Blackalicious
Released August 30, 1999 (1999-08-30)
Recorded 1998–1999
Genre Hip hop
Length 74:01
Label Mo' Wax, Quannum Projects
Producer Chief Xcel, Lyrics Born, DJ Shadow
Blackalicious chronology
A2G
(1999)		 Nia
(1999)		 Blazing Arrow
(2002)

Nia is the first 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]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[4]
NME6/10[5]
Pitchfork Media7.3/10[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 Xcel 1:48
2. "The Fabulous Ones"  Chief Xcel 2:59
3. "Do This My Way" (featuring Lyrics Born)Lyrics Born 4:48
4. "Deception"  Chief Xcel 5:10
5. "A to G"  Chief Xcel 2:23
6. "Cliff Hanger"  DJ Shadow 6:20
7. "Shallow Days"  Chief Xcel 4:19
8. "Ego Trip by Nikki Giovanni" (featuring Nikki Giovanni and Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel 1:43
9. "You Didn't Know That Though"  Chief Xcel 4:34
10. "If I May" (featuring Erinn Anova and Lateef)Chief Xcel 3:45
11. "Dream Seasons"  Chief Xcel 4:49
12. "Trouble (Eve of Destruction)"  Chief Xcel 4:28
13. "Smithzonian Institute of Rhyme" (featuring Lateef)Chief Xcel 4:24
14. "As the World Turns" (featuring Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel 5:40
15. "Reanimation"  Chief Xcel 3:38
16. "Beyonder"  Chief Xcel 4:05
17. "Making Progress"  Chief Xcel 3:10
18. "Sleep"  Chief Xcel 3:53
19. "Finding" (featuring Erinn Anova)Chief Xcel 1:53

References

  1. 1 2 Bush, John. "Nia – Blackalicious". AllMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Blackalicious: Nia". Alternative Press (141): 80. April 2000.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2009). "Blackalicious". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199726363.
  4. ↑ "Blackalicious: Nia". Entertainment Weekly: 86. February 18, 2000.
  5. ↑ "Nia". NME. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  6. ↑ Clark, Taylor M. "Blackalicious: Nia". Pitchfork Media. 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. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. p. 75. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
  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.

External links

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