Album · Blackalicious
The Craft by Blackalicious
The Craft is an album by Blackalicious, released in 2005. 1 song from it has charted on rock radio countdowns, with 1 countdown appearance in total. The biggest is “Powers”, on 1 list with a best position of #77.
The Craft, Blackalicious's third album, landed on Anti- in September 2005, three years after Blazing Arrow, and the Sacramento duo treat the title like a mission statement. Chief Xcel framed it as a matter of discipline and growth, of reaching for things they'd never tried, and that restlessness is all over it.
Gift of Gab remains the main event, unspooling tongue-twisters stacked high with syllables, rhymes folding into rhymes at a clip that makes most MCs sound like they're reading off cue cards. Xcel's production stays warm and soulful underneath, a cushion of grooves for his partner to tumble across. "Powers" is the showcase, all momentum and swagger. It would be ten years before the pair followed it with Imani Vol. 1, and Gift of Gab died in 2021, which gives this one extra weight in hindsight.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from The Craft on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Powers | 1 | #77 | – | 2006 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.