Like stars of their genre worldwide, the front-liners of the group go by pseudonyms: Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel, known to family members as Tim Parker and Xavier Mosley. They met in high school through a shared love of hip-hop. The two formed a crew shortly after meeting and went on to become Blackalicious in 1991. The respect the band have earned since their debut more than 10 years ago — respect not easily acquired by most of the commercial hip-hop artists of today — is reflected in the company the duo keeps: the inimitable DJ Shadow, socially conscious beat poet Gil Scott-Heron, spoken-word magnum Saul Williams and hip-hop stalwarts Jurassic 5, to name a few. Along with Blackalicious label mates Lateef the Truth Speaker and Lyrics Born, these artists and others feature on the duo’s latest album, Blazing Arrow. Their fourth album and also their first major label release, the album is described by Gift of Gab as “an arrow in flight” on their journey in music. It is the action that the success of earlier album Nia envisaged. Having nurtured their music through the spirit of the independent label, first through SoleSides and then Quannum Projects, Blackalicious sold more than 100 000 copies of their previous two albums on their own. A bidding war resulted, as is usually the case when major labels take notice of the talent in independent labels, and MCA signed Blackalicious in 2000, and subsequently released Blazing Arrow.Blazing Arrow is Blackalicious’s superhero. The duo’s comic-book character comes to life through Gift of Gab’s lyrical rhymes and Chief Xcel’s skilful production. Filled with the epic (Release), the fantastic (First in Flight), the political (Paragraph President) and the just plain incredible (Chemical Calisthenics), it encapsulates all that Blackalicious believe to be true. Taking their cue from the strength of hip-hop to articulate what they know and feel about the world, the duo believes in developing one’s mind and self as the path to higher living. Better than any self-help guru, Blackalicious’s songs challenge listeners with inspired verses and play on words that require razor-sharp mental agility, or at least a remote with a rewind function, to comprehend it all. Blackalicious will be performing live for South Africans at the launch of the Urban Flavours concert series, which aims to showcase the best South African hip-hop talent annually alongside international underground artists. Although Blackalicious may not get the same attention as, say, a big-name trio that will be performing here later in the month, the connection they will establish with local fans and hip-hop acts outweighs the value of the hype bestowed on many of the overrated artists that come to this now musically open country of ours. The details:Blackalicious will perform on May 9 in Cape Town at The Valve and on May 10 in Joburg at Mega Music. Performing alongside the band are Godessa, Max Normal, Tumi and the Volume and Ready D.