Nia (album)

Nia is the debut studio album by American hip hop duo Blackalicious. It was released in Europe by Mo' Wax on August 30, 1999, and re-released in the United States by Quannum Projects on February 29, 2000, with a slightly altered track listing.

Nia
Studio album by Blackalicious
Released	August 30, 1999 (1999-08-30)
Genre	Progressive rap[1]
Length	70:01
Label	Mo' Wax, Quannum Projects
Producer	Chief Xcel, Lyrics Born, DJ Shadow
Blackalicious chronology
A2G (1999) Nia (1999) Blazing Arrow (2002)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Alternative Press	4/5[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[4]
Muzik	[5]
NME	6/10[6]
Pitchfork	7.3/10[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
Spin	8/10[10]
The Village Voice	A−[11]

John Bush of AllMusic called Nia "an album that stakes the claim of Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab as not only the best pair of rappers in the underground, but also the best pair of producers."^[2] Patrick Jones of PopMatters commented that it "renews your faith in the power and potential of hip-hop."^[12] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club said, "Blackalicious' work will strike some listeners as hopelessly naïve and New Age-ish, but Nia is nevertheless an audacious, uncompromised, enormously promising album by a group with the courage to disregard hip-hop's codes and unwritten rules to create music that is vitally, distinctly its own."^[13] Exclaim!'s Del F. Cowie praised the album's "superior conceptual execution and soulful statement".^[14]

NME placed it at number 45 on the "101 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list.^[15]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Searching" (featuring Erinn Anova)	Chief Xcel	1:50
2.	"The Fabulous Ones"	Chief Xcel	3:00
3.	"Do This My Way" (featuring Lyrics Born)	Lyrics Born	4:49
4.	"Deception"	Chief Xcel	5:19
5.	"A to G"	Chief Xcel	2:24
6.	"Cliff Hanger"	DJ Shadow	6:21
7.	"Shallow Days"	Chief Xcel	4:20
8.	"Ego Trip by Nikki Giovanni" (featuring Nikki Giovanni and Erinn Anova)	Chief Xcel	1:44
9.	"You Didn't Know That Though"	Chief Xcel	4:35
10.	"If I May" (featuring Erinn Anova and Lateef)	Chief Xcel	3:45
11.	"Dream Seasons"	Chief Xcel	4:49
12.	"Trouble (Eve of Destruction)"	Chief Xcel	4:28
13.	"Smithzonian Institute of Rhyme" (featuring Lateef)	Chief Xcel	4:25
14.	"As the World Turns" (featuring Erinn Anova)	Chief Xcel	5:42
15.	"Reanimation"	Chief Xcel	3:39
16.	"Beyonder"	Chief Xcel	4:05
17.	"Making Progress"	Chief Xcel	3:11
18.	"Sleep"	Chief Xcel	3:54
19.	"Finding" (featuring Erinn Anova)	Chief Xcel	1:50
Total length:			70:01

Charts

Chart	Peak position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[16]	50
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[17]	29

References

1. Pappademas, Alex (February 2000). "Best New Music". CMJ New Music Monthly. p. 18.
2. Bush, John. "Nia – Blackalicious". AllMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
3. "Blackalicious: Nia". Alternative Press (141): 80. April 2000.
4. "Blackalicious: Nia". Entertainment Weekly: 86. February 18, 2000.
5. Crysell, Andy (December 1999). "Blackalicious: Nia (Mo' Wax)". Muzik (55): 94.
6. "Nia". NME. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
7. Clark, Taylor M. "Blackalicious: Nia". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 4, 2003. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
8. Chonin, Neva (April 27, 2000). "Blackalicious: Nia". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 26, 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
9. Hull, Tom (2004). "Blackalicious". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 75. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
10. Tompkins, Dave (March 2000). "Blackalicious: Nia". Spin. 16 (3): 151. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
11. Christgau, Robert (June 27, 2000). "Consumer Guide: Shufferng and Shmiling". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
12. Jones, Patrick. "Blackalicious: Nia". PopMatters. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
13. Rabin, Nathan (February 8, 2000). "Blackalicious: Nia". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
14. Cowie, Del F. (February 1, 2000). "Blackalicious – Nia". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
15. Pizzorno, Serge. "101 Albums To Hear Before You Die – #45". NME. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
16. "Blackalicious: Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
17. "Blackalicious: Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2018.

External links

• Nia at Discogs (list of releases)
• Nia at MusicBrainz (list of releases)