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of depth but, at the same time, had a common simplicity to them. I wanted to establish depth but keep it eye level at the same time," Xcel says. "As Malcolm X said, 'Make it plain.'"

Once finished, he handed them to Gab to conceptualize lyrics and ideas. Nia and Blazing Arrow had established Gab as a top-tier lyricist: able to drop introspective, self-searching lyrics on the one hand, mind-blowing, MC-crushing battle skills on the other. But he wanted to take his work to the next level.

On The Craft, Gab shifts his focus outward, chronicling the lives of tragic and triumphant characters-whether a teen selling crack to his addicted mother to keep her off the street or a pregnant teen conquering her fears and naysayers on "Black Diamonds and Pearls". On the epic "The Fall and Rise of Elliott Brown", a lost, incarcerated boy transforms into a leader of his community. Through it all, Gab always casts a sympathetic, nonjudgmental eye. What Xcel accomplished musically-going deep but staying eye-level-Gab did lyrically.

For the final stage, Xcel and Gab went to Grammy Award-winning engineer Russ Elevado (D'Angelo's Voodoo, Alicia Key's Songs In A Minor, Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun) whom Xcel describes as Blackalicious' third member. Together they mixed a record that balances deep thought and visceral impact, looks to the past for inspiration but pushes hip-hop into the future.

"The Craft," Xcel says, "is our passion to bring discipline to this music, the passion to keep growing, keep stretching, keep doing things we haven't before. The craft is what we live for."

For more information please contact:
Carleen Donovan
KSA Public Relations
212-582-5400/ carleend@ksapublicity.com

Hilary Okun
Epitaph Records
(213) 413-7353/hilary@epitaph.com