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This past Saturday I went to the RJD2 show at Southgate House in Newport, KY. It’s my favorite venue for a number of reasons: it’s a big converted creepy mansion reminiscent of The Munster’s crib, it usually has three shows playing at a time on various levels and it has the best quality sound system within a 100 mile radius. Also, by sheer coincidence they were playing Ray Charles on the patio’s PA system the night he passed so it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Anyway between sets filled with nose-tickling bass the title track from Blackalicious’ Blazing Arrow came on over the PA in the ballroom. Instantly it took me back to 2002 when I was heavy into the underground hip hop scene. Back when I was gobbling up anything coming out of Anticon Records, attending Scribble Jam in the summers and wearing Puma knit caps. I think it went hand in hand with attempting to become one with the decrepit urban landscape of Cincinnati. Wanting to become grittier…more legit if you will.

Over time I strayed from the heart of the hip hop scene. For a long time I thought that I was just growing up but on Saturday night, standing there in the middle of the ballroom of Southgate House amidst the odd mix of hipsters, hippies and oafish frat dudes, I began to reassess my hip hop position throughout the bubbling jaunt that is “Blazing Arrow.” Had I been wrong about hiding this double LP away in the bottom of my crates?

Well, after cleaning off the layers of resin that had accumulated on these discs from my days non-stop bong ripping, I took a listen and can tell you that I was so very wrong for letting this vinyl fester. This is one of the most completely balanced albums that I own. Usually with hip hop from earlier in the decade you get one mood. With Jurassic Five you got fun old school lyrically-driven hip hop. With Talib Kweli you got the real deep shit that made you contemplate the direction of your soul. Sage Francis just creeped you out, like being inside a musty old sleeping bag as a stranger tickles you from within the darkness. Each artist chose to go their own way and we were ok with that.

But with Blazing Arrow you got a little bit of everything. And surprisingly all corners of their musically mansion were tastefully adorned…exquisitely even. There’s never a point in this album where you don’t believe the artist’s ability to work this or that particular flow. It also helps that Blackalicious collaborates with Chali 2NA, Lateef The Truth Speaker, Chief Xcel, DJ Shadow, Hi-Tek, Ben Harper, Cut Chemist, DJ Babu, Zack de La Rocha, Saul Williams, Lyrics Born and plenty of others on this disc.

As I stated before the title track is just a poppin’ and skippin’ number that you can’t help to bob your head to. If you listen to it and your head ain’t moving, and your head ain’t in traction, then you’ve got serious groove problems. Then you go to tracks like “Chemical Calisthenics” where the word conveyor belt goes haywire at the lyric plant and verbs, adjectives, solubles, and isotopes flood the boiler room. On side 4 Blackalicious takes you real, real deep down into your subconscious with the psyche-shattering “Release Part 1, 2, & 3″.

It skips all of the touristy section of the city and hits up the hottest club, the holiest mosque and the dirtiest whore house. It takes you everywhere you need to go to become a true citizen of the Hip Hop Nation, even if aren’t comfortable with your new surroundings at first. Don’t worry, you’ll eventually settle right in.

It makes me sad that I neglected this masterpiece for such a long time. Luckily my ears are still working and I can make up for the lost time. Just don’t make the same mistake I did.

Click here to download Blazing Arrow from vinyl to MP3