Nia
Encyclopedia
Nia is the debut full-length album by American
hip hop
duo Blackalicious
, released in Europe
in late 1999 by Mo' Wax
and later released in the United States
by Quannum Projects
with a slightly altered track list.
added that it "renews your faith in the power and potential of hip-hop." Daily Vault's Ben Ehrenreich gave the album an "A" and said:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
duo Blackalicious
Blackalicious
Blackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel . They are noted for Gift of Gab's often "tongue-twisting", multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's "classic" beats...
, released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in late 1999 by Mo' Wax
Mo' Wax
Mo' Wax was a UK-based record label owned by James Lavelle, who founded it in the early 1990s with Tim Goldsworthy. Steve Finan became co-owner shortly after. The label came to recognition for being at the forefront of trip hop, turntablism and alternative rap during the mid-90s...
and later released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Quannum Projects
Quannum Projects
Quannum Projects is a hip hop collective based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been active since 1992, when it was formed at UC Davis under the moniker Solesides Records. It is also the name of the independent record label that releases their records, as well as those of a number of other...
with a slightly altered track list.
Reception
Nia received extremely positive reviews from music critics such as Rapreviews.coms Steve Juon, who said "This album is the answer to the question, "What's been lacking in hip-hop lately?.".Allmusic gave it a near perfect rating of 4.5/5 calling it "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." PopMattersPopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
added that it "renews your faith in the power and potential of hip-hop." Daily Vault's Ben Ehrenreich gave the album an "A" and said:
Track listing
| # | Title | Time | Producer(s) | Performer(s) | Sample(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Searching" | 1:48 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab
|
|
| 2 | "The Fabulous Ones" | 2:59 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 3 | "Do This My Way" | 4:48 | Lyrics Born | Gift of Gab
|
|
| 4 | "Deception" | 5:10 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 5 | "A to G" | 2:23 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 6 | "Cliff Hanger" | 6:20 | DJ Shadow DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis better known as DJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed... |
Gift of Gab | |
| 7 | "Shallow Days" | 4:19 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 8 | "Ego Trip by Nikki Giovanni" | 1:43 | Chief Xcel | Nikki Giovanni and Erinn Anova | |
| 9 | "You Didn't Know That Though" | 4:34 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 10 | "If I May" | 3:55 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab
|
|
| 11 | "Dream Seasons" | 3:44 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 12 | "Trouble (Eve of Destruction)" | 4:48 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 13 | "Smithzonian Institute of Rhyme" | 4:27 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab
|
Fela Kuti Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela , was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.-Biography:... |
| 14 | "As the World Turns" | 4:23 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab
|
|
| 15 | "Reanimation" | 5:40 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 16 | "Beyonder" | 4:05 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 17 | "Making Progress" | 3:10 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 18 | "Sleep" | 3:53 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab | |
| 19 | "Finding" | 1:53 | Chief Xcel | Gift of Gab
|
|
Trivia
- The front and back covers of Nia shows a number of vinyl stacks. Some of these records include The AlbumLatyrx (The Album)Latyrx is the debut full-length studio album by the American underground hip-hop duo Latyrx, consisting of San Francisco Bay area rappers Lateef the Truthspeaker and Lyrics Born. The album was released on August 25, 1997 on the Solesides record label...
by LatyrxLatyrxLatyrx is a hip hop music group consisting of Lateef the Truth Speaker and Lyrics Born. The roots of their partnership lay in the formation of the Solesides collective at the University of California, Davis.-History:...
, Endtroducing.....Endtroducing.....Endtroducing..... is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist DJ Shadow. It was released on November 19, 1996 by Mo' Wax Records. The album was conceived as an effort by Shadow to make an album completely based around sampling...
by DJ Shadow and Blackalicious' own debut EP, Melodica.