Getting chatty with Blackalicious’ Gift of Gab

Sam Bloch Staff Writer

Do you reside on the positive tip? Are you all about bringing it back? Most importantly, do you dig suburb-friendly hip-hop like Jurassic 5? If so, you will be delighted to see Blackalicious opening for Wyclef Jean on Feb. 11 at Walker Field House. This Bay Area-based duo is best known for their major label debut Blazing Arrow, a 70-minute-long mosey through Chief XCel’s sample-heavy party grooves, Gift of Gab’s socially conscious rhymes, and perhaps the act’s main attraction: Gab’s nonstop flow. The Miscellany News experienced this loquaciousness first-hand in a phone conversation with Gab held last Friday, Feb. 3.

The Miscellany News: First of all, what should I call you? Mr. Gab?
The Gift of Gab: Just Gab. Gab is fine.
MN: All right, cool. So what do you know about Vassar? Have you ever heard of it before?
GG: No, I haven’t.
MN: What are college crowds usually like? Do you like them more than others?
GG: Wait, say that again. Vassar?
MN: V-A-S—
GG: Oh, yeah! That’s in New York, right?
MN: Yeah, it’s in Poughkeepsie.
GG: Oh, that’s where we’re going. You know, I do so many different interviews every day, I— I know we’re doing a show on the eleventh. I’ve never been to that area before. I mean, I love New York [City]—I love New York—I’ve been there plenty of times, but never to that area of New York. I’m looking forward to checking it out.
MN: So, I hear you play lots of college shows.
GG: Yeah, definitely. That’s a big part of Blackalicious. We definitely get a lot of support from college kids.
MN: Do you prefer college kids to other hip-hop fans?
GG: You know, it’s all about music. It’s not a matter of liking somebody more than somebody else. When people show us love, we show them love back.
MN: What’s the audience at a Blackalicious college show like?
GG: They’re definitely high energy, very high-octane. Lot of adrenaline. Probably more so than a regular crowd, for some reason.
MN: Do you have any crazy stories from those shows?
GG: Oh, man. You get drunk girls who jump up on stage and dance, you know? All of the crazy stories involve drinking, obviously.
MN: Do you go to the parties after the shows?
GG: Occasionally we go and hang out. But the older we get, the less we do that. When we were younger, it was more about that, the partying. But now, I have to think of my job as my job, and treat it as so.
MN: Is press still important to you? Do you read music magazines or websites?
GG: Oh, definitely. Press is our outlet for making people aware that our record is out, or that we’re coming to their city. Press is definitely needed.
MN: Are there any in particular that you read?
GG: All of them, man. I love all of them.
MN: Let’s talk music: who are you listening to these days?
GG: Right now, I’m listening to a lot of old stuff. Lot of Stevie Wonder. I like the Kanye West record, the Common record, the new Fugees single, John Legend. But it varies. I’m really interested in world music now, like music from Brazil or India. I’m trying to experience other kinds of music so I can expand my songwriting abilities.
MN: So, is that going to be reflected in your next record?
GG: Well, I’m just a student now. Eventually it’s going to come out. I’m the type of writer that even if I’m reading a book, it’s going to come out in my writing.
MN: I want to ask you more about your contemporaries. Is there anyone whose music you really hate? Like the Black Eyed Peas?
GG: I don’t hate anybody. Everybody has their right to do their own thing. Music is like religion. Once you start saying you hate something because it may not be what you do, and act like you’re the person who dictates what’s good, then…it’s like religion. Everyone can do their own thing. Saying “this is how you’re supposed to be” is not how you should listen to music.
MN: Would you ever do a Chopped and Screwed record?
GG: It depends on the beats we have.
MN: What’s your pre-show routine? Do you have any crazy demands on your rider, like Jennifer Lopez’s all-white room?
GG: No, nothing too extravagant. I just like to zone out and get in my own space before a show. Just tap into my role, and get into my world.
MN: What about in the studio?
GG: That’s our second home. We live there, so that’s home base right there.
MN: Is there anything else you want to say to the Vassar community?
GG: Just keep it simple. You’re going to see a really good show.