Fourth Dimensional Rocketships Going Up
Artist: Gift of Gab
Label: Quannum Projects
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Rating: **** (4 out of 4)
Availability: 
/ Widely Available
There’s not a great track record for artists from much-loved bands going solo. Mick Jagger never quite made it. Pete Townsend keeps trying. James Iha wishes people would just return his phone calls. Often it’s because the band with which they gained their fame has some sort of balancing or smoothing effect on the act in question – who would ever have guessed that the guitarist for Smashing Pumpkins could write songs that sappy? So it seemed odd to me to consider one of my favorite MC’s going out on his own, without the benefit of his usual DJ and partners in rhyme. Even so, I happily plunked down the $9.99 because if there’s anybody I have faith in, it’s Gift of Gab.
While Gift’s name might not be immediately recognizable to the public at large, he’s made some headway as the frontman for the cerebral, anti-gangsta hip-hop troupe Blackalicious. Their albums – featuring the epic, sprawling rhymes of Gab laid over the rough-and-tumble beats of Chief Xcel – stand as an alternative to mainstream rap, offering a mindset more geared toward expanding the listeners’ horizons than toward blowing anything up or away.
And in Fourth Dimensional Rocketships Going Up, Gab doesn’t abandon his lofty goals. In the initial track, “The Ride of Your Life,” he sets the tone of the album as a transcendant piece – an album dedicated to upward movement and progression. Throughout the album, you’ll hear Gab call on his namesake, his gift with words (“Sorry, y’all, but I didn’t bring a gat along – just a pen that does tricks like a magic wand”) in songs like “Rat Race” and “The Writz” (which features a clever twist on the classic “Puttin’ On the Ritz”). Thematically, Fourth Dimensional Rocketships isn’t that far removed from Blackalicious’ offerings, Blazing Arrow and Nia.
Which, of course, begs the question – why record a solo album? What does Gab offer on his own that doesn’t come out in Blackalicious?
For starters, the sound. While Gab sounds the same as always, the production (handled by Jake One and Vitamin D) is lighter and jazzier than the usual Blackalicious fare, underscoring rather than driving the crawling rhymes coming out of Gab’s mouth. The lighter touch allows the MC space to breathe while clearing the air for his lyrics to sink in and turning the rapper’s voice into an instrument in its own right.
Second, as odd as it may sound, is the form of the album. Blackalicious’ outings tend to drift into the area of the “concept album,” featuring tracks that flow smoothly into one another and build upon a theme. Gab doesn’t give up his usual thematic strength, but there’s less sense of narrative to the album, leaving the listener with the feeling that Gab has a lot to say, and doesn’t care to couch it in a larger story this time around.
As a side project, it’s hard to imagine a more successful album than Fourth Dimensional Rocketships Going Up. He succeeds where other going-solo acts fail – proving that not only is he an important part of his home group, but that he has a lot to offer on his own.