Gift Of Gab (Tim Parker) and Chief Xcel (Xavier Mosley) met at John F. Kennedy High School in 1987 in sacramento, california and formed the group in the early 1990s. They released their first recording, "Swan Lake", on solesides records. The Solesides Crew consisted of the duo. as well as other friends of theirs they had met at University of California - Davis, including DJ Shadow, Lyrics Born and Lateef The Truth Speaker. The single was an underground hit, but label trouble prevented the duo from immediately capitalizing on their fame. In late 1997, Solesides became quannum projects and in 1999 Blackalicious released the A2G EP, which served as a precursor to their debut full length album, NIA, which was released the following year. This was followed by a major label contract with
1 | Release Part 1, 2, 3 | Blazing Arrow |
2 | just_what_can_happen | Okay Player True Notes Vol. 1 |
3 | Day One | Blazing Arrow |
4 | Chemical Calisthenics re-edit (tv track) | Select |
5 | Alphabet Aerobics | DJ-Kicks |
6 | Purest Love | Blazing Arrow |
7 | Make You Feel That Way | Blazing Arrow |
8 | Chemical Calisthenics | Blazing Arrow |
9 | Passion | Blazing Arrow |
10 | Paragraph President | Blazing Arrow |