Gift of Gab - The Next Logical Progression (2012)

Blackalicious MC, Gift of Gab has been a mainstay of the West Coast underground scene for almost twenty years now, and even though Blackalicious hasn’t put out a release since 2005, Gab has managed to keep himself busy with a string of impressive solo albums.  The latest in that line is 2012′s The Next Logical Progression.  Although, most probably won’t consider it his best effort, Gab puts together a very respectable collection of tracks and once again shows why he’s one of the most highly respected MCs in the game.

Gab comes out of the gate guns blazing, using the first track as a sort of pre-introduction, just to make sure the listener remembers that he has inhuman breath control and lyrics for days.  Unfortunately, we also have to chalk Gift of Gab up as another in the long line of older MCs who take exception to the current state of hip-hop.  It’s become a go-to topic over the past few years; frankly it’s getting a little tiring.  Let’s be honest; if you’re listening to a Gift of Gab solo album, you probably aren’t a big fan of mainstream hip-hop to begin with, there’s no need to harp on the topic anymore.  In general, The Next Logical Progression is a very positive album, filled with feel good choruses and inspirational lyrics.  The running theme of the album is a general appreciation of life.  Although, the story didn’t break until well after recording for this album was done, Gab has had some pretty substantial health problems as of late (he’s currently awaiting a kidney transplant and has suffered from Type 1 diabetes for years), and they’ve clearly given him a new perspective on life.  Some of the narrative tracks border on corny, in “Effed Up,” for example, in a twist that nobody won’t see coming,  the girl who scorned him gets her comeuppance when Gab sees her penniless on the street. (spoiler alert?)

Fellow Oaklander, G-Koop handled the production on The Next Logical Progression, and he took it in a different direction than Gab’s previous albums.  The spacey effects are gone as are many of the soul samples.  Unlike 4th Dimensional Rocketships and Escape 2 Mars, The Next Logical Progression is more thematic than conceptual, as such, the beats had to return to Earth, so to speak.  While not particularly intricate, the beats are extremely catchy and could go a long ways towards extending Gab’s fan base.  Most of the beats feature live instrumentals, which is always refreshing in hip-hop.  There might be more piano looping than I’ve heard in a hip-hop album.  Supposedly, Gab came up with many of the beats himself; humming bass lines into a tape recorder and giving them to Koop to turn into recordable beats.  Overall, the productions fits the theme of the album very well.  None of the beats are ever going to be remembered as classics, but they provide a suitable backdrop for Gab’s rhymes.  Nobody listens to a Gift of Gab project for the production, anyway.

I know, it sounds like I’m being really heavy with my criticisms of The Next Logical Progression, but that’s because I’m comparing it to one of the best bodies of work in hip-hop.  This is, in all reality, a very good album that is definitely worth at least a spin or two.  If someone were to call Gift of Gab the most technically skilled rapper ever, I wouldn’t argue with them, and those skills are on full display here.  Ultimately, The Next Logical Progression will go down as an album that, while technically outstanding, was thematically flawed.  It was certainly a step in a new direction for Gift of Gab, but I wouldn’t exactly call it a progression.

Best Tracks: NLP, Rise, Protocol, Toxic, Market & 8th

Overall: 85/100