Imani Vol. 1 is the fourth and final studio album by American hip hop duo Blackalicious . It was released on September 18, 2015, after a decade-long hiatus since their previous album, The Craft .[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] The title of the album means "faith" in Swahili, and it is the first part of what was a planned trilogy of albums before Timothy Parker died of kidney failure in 2021.[ 5] Work began on the album in 2012,[ 6] with the making of the album being crowdfunded via the website Pledgemusic.[ 7]
At Metacritic , which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[ 8]
Title 1. "Faith" (featuring Amde of The Watts Prophets ) 1:23 2. "Blacka" 2:43 3. "Ashes to Ashes" 3:28 4. "On Fire Tonight" (featuring Myron of Myron & E) 2:40 5. "Escape" 4:40 6. "The Sun" (featuring Imani Coppola ) 3:26 7. "That Night" (featuring Vursatyl and Jumbo of Lifesavas ) 5:54 8. "Inspired By" (featuring Bosko) 3:29 9. "We Did It Again" (featuring Danielle Flax) 3:55 10. "I Like the Way You Talk" 2:30 11. "Twist of Time" 3:12 12. "The Blow Up" 4:01 13. "Love's Gonna Save the Day" (featuring Fantastic Negrito ) 3:13 14. "Alpha and Omega" (featuring Lateef , Lyrics Born , Monophonics, and DJ D Sharp) 5:31 15. "The Hour Glass" 3:22 16. "Imani" (featuring Zap Mama ) 3:31 Total length: 56:58
^ Reed, Ryan (April 21, 2015). "Blackalicious Return With 'Imani, Vol. 1,' First Album in 10 Years" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 19, 2015 .
^ "Blackalicious Will Be Dropping a New Album This Summer - XXL" . XXL . April 22, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015 .
^ Adams, Gregory (April 21, 2015). "Blackalicious Unveil Their New First LP in 10 Years" . Exclaim! . Retrieved September 19, 2015 .
^ Blackalicious. "Imani, Vol. 1 – Available 9.18.15" . Blackalicious . Retrieved September 19, 2015 .
^ Kreps, Daniel (2021-06-25). "Blackalicious Rapper Gift of Gab Dead at 50" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved 2023-07-28 .
^ Reed, Ryan (2015-04-21). "Blackalicious Return With First Album in 10 Years" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved 2023-07-28 .
^ "Blackalicious: 'Imani Vol. 1' on PledgeMusic" . 2015-08-04. Archived from the original on 2015-08-04. Retrieved 2023-07-28 .
^ a b "Imani, Vol. 1 by Blackalicious" . Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved November 23, 2015 .
^ Mincher, Chris (September 18, 2015). "Back after 10 years, Blackalicious brings fresh production and perspective" . The A.V. Club . Retrieved November 23, 2015 .
^ MacInnes, Paul (October 22, 2015). "Blackalicious: Imani Vol 1 review – hip-hop veterans return with nostalgia and gratitude" . The Guardian . Retrieved November 23, 2015 .
^ Schonfeld, Zach (September 16, 2015). "Blackalicious: Imani Vol. 1 Review" . Paste . Retrieved November 23, 2015 .
^ Pearce, Sheldon (September 17, 2015). "Blackalicious: Imani, Vol. 1" . Pitchfork . Retrieved November 23, 2015 .
^ McCarthy, Sean (November 2, 2015). "Blackalicious: Imani" . PopMatters . Retrieved November 23, 2015 .
^ "Blackalicious: Chart History (Independent Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved October 17, 2018 .
^ "Blackalicious: Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved October 17, 2018 .
^ "Blackalicious: Chart History (Top Rap Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved October 17, 2018 .