Blackalicious's Gift of Gab Readies Solo LP

(swiped from Pitchfork Media)

The Cali rapper Gift of Gab has put in well more than a decade of work with the backpack-rap institution Blackalicious, but up until now he's only released one solo album, 2004's awesomely titled 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up. On October 27, he'll finally drop the follow-up LP Escape to Mars via Cornerstone Recording Arts Society.

That's the album cover above, and for some reason it looks almost exactly like the cover of the forthcoming album from metal supergroup Shrinebuilder if Dr. Manhattan teleported it to Mars. Seriously.

Anyway, Escape 2 Mars will feature a collaboration with fellow underground rap heavyweights Brother Ali and Del the Funky Homosapien. Gab's Quannum compatriot Lateef the Truth Speaker will also stop by. You can download one track, the vaguely Latin-inflected workout "El Gifto Magnifico", right here, and the tracklist is below.

Escape 2 Mars:

01 E2MTRO
02 El Gifto Magnifico
03 Lightyears
04 Dreamin' [ft. Del the Funky Homosapien & Brother Ali]
05 In Las Vegas
06 Escape 2 Mars
07 Electric Waterfalls
08 Richman, Poorman
09 Someofthepeople
10 Spotlight
11 Rhyme Travel
12 Dreamin' (Aqua Sawtooth Remix) *

* Vinyl-only bonus track

Video: The Mighty Underdogs "Want You Back"

Their debut album, "Droppin' Science Fiction" is out next week (10/14) on Definitive Jux Records. The group is comprised of Lateef The Truthspeaker, Gift of Gab and Producer Headnodic.

Other folks who make appearances: DJ Shadow, Mr. Lif, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, and MF Doom, as well as many more. You can stream the album right now on Definitive Jux's site by clicking the link.

Good God, tons of good Hip-Hop out this year.