Pitchfork

This is one of those classic summer albums that crams in so much sound and so much life that listening to it is like going to a block party, all-day concert and a family reunion all at the same time. Blazing Arrow is the major-label debut of underground hip-hop act Blackalicious, and if it sounds like they had more money to work with than ever before, at least they spent it well. The layered production, the mess of styles, and the three-ring circus of guest stars turn this into a breakthrough record. But what makes it a masterpiece is that Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel can hold it together with the directness of their vision of strength and hope: this is unstoppably joyous, a complicated album that feels as natural as sunshine on your forehead.

Like their full-length debut, Nia, Blackalicious use the full 74 minutes of the compact disc, and every minute has something good. But this album is also a massive advance on the last one, pushing the limber rhymes and tight beats with more musical innovation. Start with the short funk intro "Bow and Arrow," which segues into "Blazing Arrow," featuring a bouncing bassline knocking into a horn section and a hazy, dreamy Harry Nilsson sample on the chorus.

Xcel and Gab canvas thirty years of funk, soul, hip-hop and modern R&B, skipping from one to the other every song. There are the nostalgic lyrics and smooth sound on "Make You Feel That Way," with its haunting trumpet line; but a couple tracks away is "Chemical Calisthenics," a breakneck lyrical workout for Gab backed by scattershot beats from Cut Chemist. Blazing Arrow gets better with every listen as you dig into the different styles and rhythms-- from the slow glide of "Brain Washers" to the strong beats on "4000 Miles" and "Paragraph President"-- not to mention the details, like Gab punching in that "Fade away!" on the title track, or the breaking beaker on "Chemical Calisthenics."

As for the guestlist: it's impressive, not just because of the big names that lent a hand, and not just because they sound good, but because some of them have never sounded better. There are plenty of guest rappers-- Lateef the Truth Speaker, Chali 2NA, and Lyrics Born, to name a few-- but the other vocalists are surprising. Will Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha ever have another chance to shout on a record this mature? And Gil Scott-Heron's basso profundo firms up "First in Flight"-- he didn't even sound that good back when he sounded that good. Fellow SoleSides alumnus DJ Shadow slips in a between-tracks interlude, and Saul Williams gets a showcase for his gnarled, elaborate verses in "Release." And ?uestlove of the Roots co-wrote and plays drums on one of the album's standouts, the missed-opportunities rumination of "Nowhere Fast."

Blazing Arrow has moments of slick R&B, not least because of the MCA-roster female vocalists who help slow things down: Jaguar Wright's randy, sassy guest spot on "Aural Pleasure," Keke Wyatt on "It's Going Down," or Tracey Moore's smooth-as-silk chorus on "Nowhere Fast." Xcel fills out the sound with live instruments, including horns on several songs. Dig the funky keyboards and cello low in the mix on "Nowhere Fast" as Gab runs through a list of what he'll accomplish "tomorrow," while the music sends him drifting away.

Gab has plenty of fast rhymes, but is more impressive for the clarity of his message. There's a humility to his frontman stance that makes this album about everything but himself. He and Xcel have the stage, and all they want to do is share it. It's as if the scope of this album-- the stylistic diversity, the guest artists, the sincere, ecstatic rhymes-- doesn't come from ambition or creativity for its own sake, but out of a need to include everyone they know and everything they see around them. Not since Car Wash has there been such a celebration of diversity and hot fun in the summertime. And unlike that otherwise classic film, Blazing Arrow doesn't have the Pointer Sisters to drag it down.