In 2004, Blackalicious' two main men Gift Of Gab and Chief Xcel decided to take a break from each other and release respective solo projects. Gab's 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up showed the hip hop community that Gab could dabble outside of Xcel's beats and still be as successful, while Xcel proved that his beats could suit others perfectly as well when he teamed up with Lateef from Latryx to release the equally respected Lateef & the Chief project. Fast forward a year later and Gab & Xcel are back trying to equal the past successes of the Nia and Blazing Arrow albums with The Craft, their third full record together to date.

The Craft starts off well enough with the blazing opener "World Of Vibrations," a verbally dazzling delight from speedy rapper Gab who blasts off on what's "hip" in the world of rap today with the line "So let me speak the opposite of what's hot now, and make that hot so it will get exploited, and the corporations only will back dudes who bite my style." Next track, "Supreme People," also sees Gab in fine form rhyming about the difficulty of living a supposedly good life in the hood versus slinging drugs on the corner. Gab argues the fine point "Don't nobody want to get a promotion up to fry cook like Calvin did. Some would rather take a gamble, hey they might do bids…Got you lookin' at 200 bucks a week vs. like a thousand in a day, tell me what makes more sense."

After that tenacious start however, The Craft starts to wear incredibly thin. Xcel's beats are pretty much the main problem as they all start to sound the same by the end, and are never really that creative to begin with. That and his mixture of live music through some of The Craft make it sound like a third string Roots project. The guest spots are not particularly great either. George Clinton, Floetry and Pigeon John all put in less than stellar work here. The only guest who even comes close to greatness is Lyrics Born on his guest spot for "Give It To You." All that mixed with the fact that Gab seems to be a little thin on relevant rhymes so soon after his solo joint, makes The Craft the first Blackalicious album to fall into the category of near mediocrity.