The Craft (album)

The Craft is the third studio album by American hip hop duo Blackalicious.[1] It was released on Anti- on September 27, 2005.[2] Chief Xcel said, "The Craft is our passion to bring discipline to this music, the passion to keep growing, keep stretching, keep doing things we haven't before."[3] As of 2015, the album has sold 67,000 copies in the US.[4]

The Craft
Studio album by
Blackalicious
ReleasedSeptember 27, 2005 (2005-09-27)
GenreHip hop
Length58:11
LabelAnti-
ProducerChief Xcel
Blackalicious chronology
Blazing Arrow
(2002)		 The Craft
(2005)		 Imani Vol. 1
(2015)
Singles from The Craft
  1. "Your Move"
    Released: 2005
  2. "Powers"
    Released: 2006

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The A.V. Clubfavorable[6]
Robert ChristgauA−[7]
The Guardian[8]
HipHopDX[9]
Pastefavorable[10]
Pitchfork7.4/10[11]
PopMatters[12]
Stylus MagazineB[13]
XLR8Rfavorable[14]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80% based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1]

Jack Booty of Prefix gave the album a 7.0 out of 10, saying, "[Chief] Xcel's production doesn't stray very far from its R&B and soul influences, but this time it comes without almost any samples, relying sometimes on players from a homebrewed funk band to create clearance-free beats instead."[15]

Exclaim! placed it at number 6 on the "Hip-Hop: Year in Review 2005" list.[16]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."World of Vibrations" (featuring Ledisi)X. Mosley, T. Parker5:02
2."Supreme People"S. Martel, Mosley, Parker, H. Salters, V. Ségal, T. Underdue4:03
3."Rhythm Sticks"Mosley, Parker4:36
4."Powers"Martel, Mosley, Parker, Salters, Ségal, Underdue3:47
5."Your Move" (featuring Lifesavas)Mosley, Parker3:55
6."Lotus Flower" (featuring George Clinton)Martel, Mosley, Parker, Salters, Ségal, Underdue4:12
7."My Pen and Pad"Mosley, Parker2:02
8."Side to Side" (featuring Lateef and Pigeon John)L. Daumont, J. Dust, Mosley, Parker4:36
9."Automatique" (featuring Floetry)M. Ambrosius, Mosley, Parker, N. Stewart4:07
10."The Fall and Rise of Elliot Brown"F. Leaneir, Mosley, Parker3:55
11."Black Diamonds and Pearls" (featuring Ledisi and Larry Saunders)Mosley, Parker4:22
12."Give It to You" (featuring Kween and Lyrics Born)Mosley, Parker, T. Shimura3:51
13."Ego Sonic War Drums" (featuring P.E.A.C.E.)M. Davis, Martel, Mosley, Parker, Salters, Ségal5:57
14."The Craft"Mosley, Parker3:46

Charts
Chart Peak
position
US Billboard 200[17] 102
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[18] 5
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[19] 79

References
  1. "The Craft by Blackalicious". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  2. "Blackalicious Polishes Its 'Craft'". Billboard. June 2, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  3. "Blackalicious Unveil The Craft". IGN. June 2, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  4. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on August 25, 2015.
  5. Bush, John. "Blackalicious - The Craft". AllMusic. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  6. Rabin, Nathan (October 12, 2005). "Blackalicious: The Craft". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  7. Christgau, Robert. "Blackalicious". Christgau's Consumer Guide. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  8. Lynskey, Dorian (September 23, 2005). "Blackalicious, The Craft". The Guardian. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  9. Tardio, Andres (November 22, 2005). "Blackalicious - The Craft". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  10. Howe, Brian (September 27, 2005). "Blackalicious - The Craft". Paste. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  11. Murphy, Matthew (September 29, 2005). "Blackalicious: The Craft". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  12. Stirling, Stephen (October 3, 2005). "Blackalicious: The Craft". PopMatters. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  13. Passantino, Dom (September 30, 2005). "Blackalicious - The Craft". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  14. Thill, Scott (December 1, 2005). "Blackalicious: The Craft". XLR8R. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  15. Booty, Jack (October 3, 2005). "Blackalicious: The Craft". Prefix. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  16. Dix, Noel (January 1, 2006). "Hip-Hop: Year in Review 2005". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  17. "Blackalicious: Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  18. "Blackalicious: Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  19. "Blackalicious: Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2018.

Further reading
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