Blackalicious: Blazing Arrow

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * * )

You can tell a lot about a hip-hop crew not only from where they're from - the case of the two men of Blackalicious that's San Francisco - but by the company they keep.

They have past connections to DJ Shadow (via his Solesides outfit), and on this their major label debut they managed to find spots for political proto-rap figure Gil Scott-Heron, members of old school Los Angeles outfit Jurassic 5 as well as Dilated Peoples, former Rage Against the Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha and soul-bluesman Ben Harper.

The guest list doesn't stop Blazing Arrow being an intelligent, invigorating and warmly funky collection. Or prevent Blackalicious's Excel (Xavier Mosely) and Gift of Gab (Tim Parker) stamping their distinctive adept rhyming skills all over the 17 tracks.

The likes of First in Flight (featuring Scott-Heron) and the reggae-ish rumble of 4000 Miles and Aural Pleasure (featuring new R&B star Jaguar Wright) echo the early output of Michael Franti's Spearhead. Elsewhere, as on Nowhere Fast they remind of a soul-fired De La Soul while Harper and his band's playing on Brainwashers makes it a laidback highlight of the album with its mix of Sly Stone-styled funk and contemporary rap.

It's an epic that might lose its momentum towards the end but Blazing Arrow has ideas to burn and it's one fine and imaginative album for the thinking hip-hop fan.

Label: MCA