The Soul Survives

It’s been almost 30 years since Timothy Parker (aka Gift of Gab) and Xavier Mosley (aka Chief Xcel) started discussing the points of NorCal versus SoCal hip-hop at Sacramento’s John F. Kennedy High; it’s been more than 20 years since the then-freshly minted duo, Blackalicious, put out their propulsive and forward-thinking debut EP Melodica; and its been exactly 10 years since the third and last album from the duo, The Craft, appeared as their consummate statement on the art of hip-hop, a testament to their skills and experience. After a decade of strong solo efforts and collaborative work, 2015 is the year Blackalicious returns to the mothership, heading at light speed to the place they’ve always lived: the future.

2015 will bring us the first volume in a trilogy of releases collectively known as Imani (Swahili for “faith”), easily the most ambitious undertaking to date from the lyrical auteurs. The dense first installment functions as a fitting reintroduction to the group’s sound and mission statement. Xcel and Gab together form a highly melodic rhythm section, perhaps the most locked-in sonic relationship ever achieved between DJ and MC. Thematically, the material swarms with vibrant positivity, a message that’s conscious without sermonizing, an attitude that’s perceptive without being ironic.

Blackalicious could spend their time battling to keep their unique position in hip-hop, but they don’t have to. Their focus has always been on the craft of music, and after three years of preparation and one life-threatening situation (Gab underwent a kidney operation in 2012), the group seem to be heading toward another euphoric career high.

Recently we were able to speak with Chief Xcel, the sonic sorcerer of the partnership, and learn about this bold new era being forged by Imani. We learned a little about faith, the benefits of musical immersion, and how important it is to be moved by the music you make.

So you’re in the studio today… What are you working on?
We just finished Vol. 1, so now I’m getting the soundscape together for Vol. 2.

What’s your process for creating a soundscape?
There’s really no one way. I mean, I pretty much create music every day… The way Blackalicious records work is, I just amass a certain amount of music and then I just shoot it all over to Gab. Case in point, I’ll make like 50 to 60 beats for him, and he may pick 10 to 15. I’ll give him some time to narrow it down. We’ll go in, lay down rough ideas and from there, pick out the ones that inspire us the most. So out of those 10 or 15, we may pick only three to five, and decide that these are definite keepers. And then we’ll go in and really zero-in on those and develop those ideas and concepts.

I heard you and Gab have something you call “The Goosebumps Theory.” How would you describe that?
That’s something that we really had explored while working on The Craft, our last record. I had actually learned it while reading Quincy Jones’ autobiography, and that was the approach that he and Michael Jackson took when they were doing Thriller. With each song, they had to feel like the hairs on the back of their necks raising, like they were getting goosebumps. So we took that concept and really just meditated on it. We were really intrigued by it—just to be able to take things to that level—Does this music move you? That’s the underlying theme. The aim was always to make something that is timeless, and in order for it to be timeless, it has to touch you; It has to strike that chord. It’s the kind of thing where you just know. Certain things you listen to and you know they move you. It comes to a point where it’s beyond you, really. You have to step out of the way of the creativity, and you just let it happen.

Ten years on from the last Blackalicious project, after several respective solo projects, do you feel you and Gab have brought some new styles and influences into the mix? Were there any new discoveries in that time/any soul-searching?
I wouldn’t really call it soul-searching so much as studying. Especially for me, as a producer, each time I go into a different creative environment with a different artist, or even a different producer, it’s always a learning process. I’ve just been blessed and fortunate in terms of the people that I’ve been able to learn from, whether it was working with Gil Scott-Heron, or George Clinton, or Harley White. Each one has a unique way of tapping in to their creative process, so for me, it’s been a career of synthesizing all of these influences into a distinct sound. For us, making a Blackalicious record is just a period of absorption. It’s almost like data selection, you know what I mean? We have this specific approach to making records, but each time, it becomes a little bit sharper.

There seems to be a pretty sharp concept to the new record. I noticed the last track, “Imani” segues perfectly into the first track, “Faith.” What was the idea behind that?
It’s designed to really come full circle. That’s the simplest way I can sum it up. It’s designed to feel infinite. The concept for this album is really a reflection of who we are, and where we are.

Is there a similar vision for the next two volumes?
You’ll have to hear them! I don’t want to give out too much—everything builds upon what came prior. There will definitely be more collaborations on the second one—some will be surprising. It’s like a story that keeps building and developing.

You’ve both mentioned that this feels like a new beginning for the group. How so?
It’s another chapter. I mean, Gab’s in a place where he’s probably in the most prolific state he’s ever been in, in the entire course of his career, which is exciting. It’s exciting for me as a producer, because I never know what any given day in the lab is going to produce. There are very few artists that you work with where, no matter what I create, I know he is going to become an instrument within that given song. And take it to a level I hadn’t even thought about. I think that’s one of the key ingredients to our longevity over the past two decades.

Where do you think hip-hop is now after the past two decades?
Hip-hop tends to have a self-correcting mechanism. So whenever things tend to go too far in one direction, there always tends to be artists that can kind of ground it and bring it back on track, you know? And it happens maybe every five, six years? But I think the artistry is coming back. From my perspective, music is a continuum. There’s no beginning, no end, it’s all part of one continuum.

How do you and Gab achieve such a tight connection between the production and the rhymes?
Sometimes there’s an effortlessness that comes, just because we’ve been working together for more than half of our lives. We know each other, kind of like two people that have been on the basketball court for years, since they were in grade school, and now they’re in the NBA. They can do certain things because they know how the other person thinks. We’re at a point in our career now where we’ve really just hit that stride, creatively. Now we’re both just trying to hit that point of creative, rarefied air, you know?

You’re well known as a big time crate-digger/record collector. Has your taste in music/sound palate shifted significantly since you worked with Gab on The Craft?
I don’t know if it changes so much as it develops. You’re into something one day and something different the next. It’s more about continuing to learn. I may go back and revisit things, records that I’ve listened to just one or two times, 10 to 15 years ago, and go, “Wow! I never realized that was in there.” I think your ear for music develops all the time, so you start hearing things differently. As a result, you start to take different approaches to things.

What does it mean to be a musical scholar?
It’s important to study, man. And not just studying, I mean really listening and submerging yourself—no pun intended—into music. Dive as deep into it as you possibly can. There’s only a certain amount of notes and a certain amount of chords, but at the same time never ever, stop learning. When you stop learning, that’s when people—to use a phrase that they used way back in the day—fall off. You always want to be students.

How was the TBD experience?
I always love playing in Sacramento. I tell people all the time, Oakland and the Bay is home, but Sacramento is the genesis for us. So each time we play here, we feel it’s the place where it all began for us. And we’re really looking forward to the Concert in the Park on the 29th as well.

What can the park crowd expect?
Well the people that are planning to come out, who’ve seen us before, they all know we do a great show. We work to always make it an experience, and whether there are five thousand people in the crowd or just five, our aim is always to connect those different energies into one energy. That’s what I think people enjoy about coming to see us live is that interaction.

You can catch Blackalicious along with DLRN, Element Brass Band and more at Cesar Chavez Plaza this Friday, May 29, 2015, at 5 p.m. as part of this summer’s Concerts in the Park series. Like all concerts in the series, the price for admission is FREE for all ages. For a full list of remaining shows, go to Godowntownsac.com.

Words by Adam Saake

On the first try to get Nate Curry, aka N8 the Gr8, of Sacramento’s legendary local hip-hop group the CUF on the phone for an interview with Submerge, he was tied up with some music business.

“I’m at Western Union wiring Gift of Gab some money right now for a verse. Can you call me back in five minutes?”

Curry is a busy man. Besides being one of five members of the CUF, he’s also a producer for up-and-coming R&B singer Marryann Hunter, hip-hop group Lost Tribe and his cousin, rapper MAK. His head has been immersed in those projects, and it wasn’t until recently that his focus turned once again to making music with the CUF.

“Truthfully, in the last year, we were kind of losing our motivation a little bit. I ventured off into some other stuff,” says Curry.

There’s no behind-the-music story, no band beef or silly drama. It’s just that the group has seen so many opportunities over the years come and go that delusions of grandeur were hardly taking shape.

“We’ve had so many different labels and so many different things that we’ve dealt with and it’s always just turned into shit. So none of us really expected anything,” explains Curry.

But the journey’s been a good one.

In 1993, a hugely important year in hip-hop that saw the release of such albums as Souls of Mischief’s 93 Til Infinity, Wu Tang’s 36 Chambers, Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, KRS-One’s Return of the Boom Bap and so many more (seriously, Google it), the young MCs known as the CUF were beginning what would become an 18-year-long musical career. Sacramento, sadly, was a lot like it is now in respects to clubs and music venues having little interest or tolerance for hip-hop or rap music. As Curry explains, there’s been no shortage of a few knuckleheads ruining it for us all with “plenty of people getting shot and killed at clubby club shows.” This was working against them, but a greater force was and has been ever-present; a strong Sacramento music community. Can’t book a hip-hop show? Well then play with a rock or a ska band.

“We got in with Filibuster, Steady-Ups, Diseptikons, Storytellers and those guys…and we’d get into venues that they’d have never let us play at,” recalls Curry.

These mix-and-match shows were part of one of the most active times in Sacramento’s local music scene. Venues like Old Ironsides, The Distillery, The Press Club and the original Capitol Garage all played host to the CUF, but now rarely if at all welcome hip-hop shows. Listeners who may have never stepped foot in a hip-hop club were now exposed to the sounds of the CUF playing alongside some of their other favorite groups. Well aware of this fact, Curry and fellow MCs Crush, Brotha RJ and Pete (Lil N8, aka Taktics, would come later) sharpened and fine-tuned their lyrics and beats to make sure their sound was clean and their voices be heard.

“We perfected our stage show because we knew that no one knew our music,” says Curry. “We made it to where we’d speak clear on the mic and the beats weren’t super cluttery and jumbled.”

Crowds were quickly won over; seeing the CUF on a bill without a single other hip-hop act was pretty commonplace. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the group had an anthem track appropriately titled “Sacramento” that listeners quickly memorized the lyrics to and would frequently request at live shows.

It wasn’t always difficult for hip-hop in the River City. There were all-ages venues throughout the years, most of which are no longer around, that were instrumental in keeping the scene alive and well. The Washington Neighborhood Center on 16th Street hosted frequent hip-hop shows, as did the now defunct and legendary venue Joe’s Style Shop. The upstairs art space and basement music venue on J Street was regularly throwing some of the most amazing shows that continued the theme of mixing and matching the artist community. Dub DJs like Wokstar opening for Filibuster with the CUF rounding out the bill was commonplace, and Sacramento was there in full effect, supporting the diversity and loving it. Later, Scratch 8 in Old Sacramento played host to such acts as Zion I, Crown City Rockers, The Grouch and many others. Again, the CUF was there laying down their signature sound and remaining an integral presence in the waxing and waning hip-hop scene of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s.

As other bands have throughout the years, the CUF also found homes for its hip-hop sound in other cities in the Bay Area and Southern California. A monthly club being thrown in Oakland called Unsigned Hype was a showcase for independent hip-hop talent making waves, as well as up-and-coming acts like the CUF. Bills would often include artists like Saafir of Hobo Junction or Souls of Mischief of Hieroglyphics. A fateful evening at the club paired the CUF and an unknown Mystik Journeymen from another large hip-hop group called the Living Legends as openers for A-Plus. The club that night was treated to impressive sets from both opening acts that left the crowd speechless–literally.

“It was weird because we put on an awesome show and everyone just stared and looked at us. I don’t think they were ready,” remembers Curry. “RJ and Sunspot [Jonz] chopped it up, we linked up and ended up going over to their loft and the rest was history.”

That history would include multiple tours with the Living Legends up and down the West Coast as well as guest appearances on each other’s albums. But even with the taste of scenes in other cities that had thriving hip-hop communities, the CUF could never leave Sacramento behind. It’s always been their identity.

“Sacramento is our home;” says Curry proudly. “That’s the reason our music sounds the way it does; it’s the reason that we are who we are.”

For residents of the 916 who aren’t familiar with the CUF, who over the past few years have kept a low profile, their chance to discover a hip-hop gem hasn’t passed. With a new album just released on April 26, 2011 titled CUF Caviar Vol. 1, the CUF is, to put it frankly, back and better than ever. A truly funky record with intelligent production from Curry, who has been responsible for 90 percent of the beats on CUF records, CUF Caviar is just plain fun to listen to. The album took two years to complete and the production value certainly shows patience. Songs like “Don’t Ask No ?’s” plays heavily with a punchy funk drum sample, a Ceelo-esque hook and auto tune vocals… It works, and frankly I wish the crap on the radio that employed similar techniques sounded half as good. CUF Caviar is a more refined, more polished version of what the group has been all along. It’s rare nowadays to find musicians who define a sound for themselves and are able to gracefully age and mature it without compromising the original ideas. The CUF has done just that.

“A lot of the stuff we did before was just us vibing out. We’d write a 16, the beat’s dope, let’s jump on it and find a hook and make it fat,” Curry explains. “[Now] it’s on a totally bigger scale.”

The title of the album, CUF Caviar, is the perfect reflection of this new “scale.” Curry says that when naming the album, the CUF wanted to stick with the fish theme that has always been their logo as well as the incorporation of the band name in the title. Past records have included CUF Daddy, CUF Baby and CUFilation as well as the earlier tapes Federal Expressions and Cuffish that are collectors’ items among diehard fans.

“We basically were thinking that caviar are fish eggs. They’re fish babies, but they’re more refined. It’s something that you’d want if you had an ear that’s more refined. It’s not no little kiddie hip-hop. It’s something for grown folks; sophisticated ears,” jokes Curry.

One of the more humorous things about the maturation of the CUF is the actual acronym itself. Commonly referred to as California Underground Funk or Californians Under Frustration, the guys have become family men now and a new meaning has come to pass: Cousins Uncles and Fathers.

The rejuvenated CUF will be taking CUF Caviar on the road, playing spot shows with Z-Man, Equipto and Mike Marshal. May 12 at Harlow’s will be the CD release show and Curry says that there may even be a Blackalicious and CUF tour on the horizon as well. If you’re not a CUF fan or if you’ve always been, make sure you cop the new album and hear what the fellas have been up to.

Gift of Gab at Home in the Unknown

It is hard to believe it’s been nearly 20 years since rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel formed Blackalicious within the walls of Kennedy High School and later went on to form Soulsides Records after meeting DJ Shadow at Davis’ KDVS. That was 1992. Times have changed, but one ideal remains true: testing Gift of Gab on the mic will put MCs in trouble.

Soon the prolific wordsmith will be over the hill, and 2012 will be Blackalicious’s 20th year in hip-hop. “Hip-hop has grown up. Most of the dopest rappers on the planet, in my opinion, are over 30. If you never stop loving what you do and doing it with a passion, you can’t outgrow it. Unless you get caught into that box.”

Next week the self-proclaimed El Gifto Magnifico will release his second solo record away from Chief Xcel, entitled Escape 2 Mars. Furthermore, Gab says he has already finished his next album.

“I feel like I haven’t done half of the music I’m going to do yet,” he said. “It’s all about busting myths. Twenty years ago, you’d probably think you can’t rap at the age of 30. This is something you do when you’re a teenager.”

An important transition in Gab’s career is staying out of the dreaded box, but he seems content with his situation. He has been on both sides of the fence and has truly discovered which side has the greener grass. Although MCA folded beneath Blackalicious’ only major label record, he remains grounded in independent music. Gab started his own distribution company three years ago called Giftstribution releasing two mixtapes and a Mighty Underdogs EP. “Sometimes a big machine like that is needed to get to those outlets that may be more political based than culturally or artistically based,” he said.

Free to create, Gab is releasing Escape 2 Mars this week through Giftstribution. The title and Mayan calendar apocalypse artwork might be cause for alarm that Gift of Gab is buying into the end of the world theories. The imagery is not meant to be a direct translation, though, and he’s not suggesting he’s got reservations booked on the first alien spacecraft out of here come 2012. “I’m not promoting 2012 in any way,” he began, but then backtracked, “Well, I am subtly, but to say I believe in it would be going too far. It’s just interesting information.”

Intriguing information is the motivation behind the songwriting for Gift of Gab’s record. Gab weighs in as an environmentalist with songs like the title track and “Electric Waterfalls.” The escape to Mars for Gab is less of a prophecy and more of a result should we not take care of what’s left. “I’ve seen a couple movies and read some information, so it was something that was in my mind at the time I wrote some particular songs,” Gab explains.

Production is primarily handled by DNAE Beats with fellow Bay Area producer and Headnodic behind the boards for a few beats as well. DNAE Beats is heavily influenced by electronic music, giving his laser synth beats a futuristic bounce. Gift of Gab hooking up with DNAE Beats for his electronic style is all part of Gab’s predilection for forward thinking. As we speak on the phone, he relates on several occasions that with each record he has the responsibility to “lyrically explore new styles.” With such province comes a necessity to challenge his sonic surroundings in order to escape convention.

Prior to going into the studio to work on Escape 2 Mars, Gift of Gab, performing as Blackalicious, did several shows with San Francisco dance DJs Bassnectar. For Gab, these shows were an eye opening experience that took him back to his younger days as a shorty on the hip-hop scene. “In a lot of ways this is the new hip-hop, because it’s so underground,” he said regarding his experience with Bass Nectar. “It’s still kind of pure and hasn’t been commercialized. The energy of the crowd is that of a hip-hop crowd… on a little more ecstasy though.”

As we chatted on the phone, Gab asked for my honest opinion of his album, assuring me he would be cheating himself to not hear me out. It was a rare moment, as we discussed the lack of introspective songs on the record, an element I have always respected, and his necessity to challenge preconception. “I’m aware that people listen to me for those songs on personal growth and look to me for that,” he said. “But if I set down [to write] and thought, ‘I have to write songs like these because this is what people expect me to do,’ I can’t be free.”

In preparing for the interview, I had my reservations about Escape 2 Mars. It took me a while to appreciate “Cliffhanger” off NIA, but the frigid synths on his latest solo left me in the dead of space seeking the soulful side of Gab. The dual producers do lend opportunity to hear him in familiar territory. Listening to the leaked single “Dreamin’,” which features Del the Funky Homosapien and Brother Ali lessened my criticism, but I questioned the two formats clashing. Gab did not share my concern, chalking it up as an expression of working the angles. “In my mind it’s a full body of work with different elements and angles to it,” he said. “With every record I’m trying to go into ground that hasn’t been charted, or if it has been charted, I’m trying to chop it up in a new way.”

See Gift of Gab on The Deadliest Catch Tour with Chali 2na, Mr. Lif and Lyrics Born on Nov. 23, 8 p.m. at Harlow’s.

The Grouch Set to Leave Paradise for West Coast Tour

Over the past decade, Oakland, Calif. native The Grouch has proven to be the embodiment of the independent musician. Alongside his crew the Living Legends, Grouch built an underground empire from the ground up, building a reputation by pounding the pavement with dope product, selling his music to fans hand-to-hand. He always made himself visible and bridged the often-murky area between supplier and consumer. Hustle aside, it was his music that resonated with fans. Instead of a fast food filling, Grouch based his lyrics in reality—honest and candid, intelligent and insightful. Through 10 solo albums, five group collaborations and more than a handful of Living Legends projects, Grouch has never led fans astray. An inspiration for anyone looking to make it happen by doing it their way, his career has shown that hard work and dedication go a long way.

In support of How the Grouch Stole Christmas, his aptly titled 11-city West Coast tour, the man whose fuzzy 4-track songs I once put on a Maxell mixtape spoke from his newly settled island paradise on topics ranging from modern-day subsistence living to Dr. Seuss—and of course, music.

I understand you’re out in Hawaii at the moment. Is that for work or pleasure?
Nah, I’m living out here doing the family life, growing vegetables and chillin’. Working of course, every day, all day, grinding over the Internet and over the telephone. It’s not a permanent thing, I don’t think, but we like it out here a lot so we wanted to give it a trial period. We were supposed to stay six months, but at the end of the six months we were like, we got to go for another six months. We’re taking it as it comes.

You said growing vegetables, are you really on some subsistence level shit out there or what?
Nah, we’re just living. We’re staying at a house that get its water from the rain and has solar power, and we have a good vegetable garden going. We’re just doing natural family life: kicking it, and jumping in the ocean and drinking coconuts.

That sounds amazing.
Yeah, it’s been a real good experience. It’s a good change, and we did it at a good time. It’s still the United States, but it feels a little bit detached out here. There is less advertising, less TVs around.

Your latest tour, How the Grouch Stole Christmas, is going to take you away from your paradise for a couple days. Off the top, it was nice to see fellow Living Legend Eligh’s name right there with yours.
Yeah, it worked out good because me and Eligh have an album coming out March or April of next year. People always ask when the next G&E album is coming out. Me and Eligh are good friends so when we do shows, it’s always fun, and people love to see the combination of us two. We’re both on the same page, as far as us both doing sober shows and all that, and we’re both at a time in our careers where we are taking everything very seriously and trying to step our games up.

I was going to say, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard mention of G&E as a group. What can you say about the album so far?
We’ve got a strong single with Gift of Gab, so you’ll hear that. But as far as everyone else, we have Mistah Fab on there, Sage Francis and Slug on a couple different songs. We’ve got a song produced by Flying Lotus, a joint produced by Amp Live of Zion I. It’s going to be a good release. I’m really proud of the music so far.

The Bayliens are also scheduled to play, but there is one name that I didn’t recognize: Paul Dateh.
Yeah, he’s dope. He’s from L.A. and played violin on my last album; he’s also a vocalist too. If you Google him, there are some pretty amazing videos of his violin skills, and how he combines them with hip-hop. He’s just coming up and making a name for himself. When you watch the set though, you’re like damn that was dope. Every time I have him open up for me, he gets a really good response. The Bayliens, they’ve been working real hard and I like the way they do their stuff, so it all works together.

Alright, last one to wrap it all up. Looking at Dr. Seuss as a writer, in terms of his story telling, his structure, his rhymes, how would you rate him in MC terms?
Dr. Seuss is a dope poet, and would make a dope MC. I think if he wanted to rap, he could probably have some tight raps. I don’t know how much of a coincidence it is that I’m using one of his themes, but I’ve had a lot of people tell me that my rhyme style reminds them of Dr. Seuss. I don’t know if that’s a diss or not [laughs]. It wasn’t like, “You have the most Simple Simon rhymes in rap,” but I have been told that they can see a resemblance, and I take that as a compliment. I like the dude’s style. He’s not the most complex, but he’s successful for a reason. The way he put his books out there, and the content in them with the pictures and the whole package, I really respect the dude.

Simple or not, at the end of the day he’s saying something of substance, which can always be said of your music.
Exactly.