What’s the secret of the enduring 20-year success of one of the world’s greatest hip hop acts, Blackalicious? According to one half of the duo Gift of Gab, who was most recently here in June on MC duties for DJ Shadow, it comes down to one main ingredient: their strive to “keep it exciting and keep it unpredictable”.

And Gift of Gab says he’s mighty excited about making it back to our shores so soon: in large part because of our sunny weather, and also because of their ever-loyal fan base. The tour comes off the back of their DVD release earlier this year 4/20 in Seattle, and Blackalicious feel that the entirety of their 20 year career has indeed been “a blessing…and that being able to document it this way is great”.

Over the 20 year period that Gab and and his partner in crime Xcel have been in collaboration, we’ve seen some almighty cultural shifts in how we listen to and make music, for both artists and consumers alike. I queried Gab on this shift, and how it’s impacted an artist like himself who’s essentially witnessed a revolution over this period of time. He believes that it is both a positive and a negative, and alludes to one of life’s common truths which is, “why would you buy something when you can get it for free?” He said it can be frustrating being exploited this way, but on the upside things like MySpace have allowed him to easily communicate with their fans on what Blackalicious is up to, and that’s arguably “all the promotion you really need”. Additionally, if it hadn’t been for this shift then their new DVD might never have become a reality.

Reigning from the ‘old school’ era of hip hop, I raised the question of whether he thought that the true essence of the genre had been somewhat compromised by the abundance of bitches, bling and crunk that we’re seeing at the moment. Does he cringe when he looks at contemporary hip hop? “Hip hop can be different things, and can’t be put in a box,” he says, and that by making any kind of music, “recording artists are being true to their energy.” He reckons there is indeed a place for everything, and even if you look at something like crunk, it has a significant social setting from which it was born out of.
Both Gab and Xcel have maintained their partnership over the years by also working independently, which he believes makes their partnership stronger and enhances their development as a duo. “It’s healthy to give each other room to breathe, and it keeps Blackalicious fresh.” It fuels the already dope chemistry they have, and the creation of their label Quannum and Soulsides have allowed them to work with the massively talented likes of Lyrics Born, Lateef and many more, so it’s not surprising that their chemistry with other artists plays a meaningful role in inspiring them.

Many of Gab’s fans would know that he endured a battle with alcoholism, and this largely provided the inspiration for the majority of their 1999 release Nia. Reflecting on it, he feels that it made him more dedicated to his work as a whole, closer to his purpose as well as being closer to God. Artistically, he has found comfort in “relying on the power of the creator to help me be a vessel”, and that in itself has made him become “a stronger person and a better person all round….human being wise and artist wise”. And staying with this theme, Blackalicious believe strongly in the importance of studying and reflecting on past musical releases, and establishing what was great about them and what can be improved.

So what are their finest moments? Blackalicious can now claim five critically acclaimed releases to its credit: 1995’s Melodica, 1999’s A2G, 1999’s Nia, 2002’s Blazing Arrow and The Craft, as well as the release of the 4/20 Live in Seattle DVD this year. As a result of this, Gab reckons they “never can put finger on what they’re going to do next,” and that they’ll continue to “keep pushing each other to go in new directions” whatever they get up to in the future of Blackalicious.

So after this tour winds up, what’s coming up next for the group? “We are doing separate things right now”. Xcel is currently working on a soul album, as well as working with Lateef on an album called Mighty Underdogs that drops early in the US summer. Gab will be dropping a solo album early 2009, and then they will be back in consultation for the next Blackalicious album. “We’re going to keep making music, we’re not done by any means, and in my opinion, we haven’t put out our best work yet.”

You can catch Blackalicious keeping it exciting and keeping it unpredictable at the following shows…

28th Dec: The Forum, Sydney
30th Dec: The Falls, Lorne, Victoria
31st Dec: The Falls, Marion Bay, Tasmania
3rd Jan: The Espy, Melbourne
4th Jan: HQ, Adelaide
5th Jan: Southbound Festival, Busselton