Chief Xcel, the producer half of Blackalicious, comes through with funky, layered beats and a couple of neat song transitions.  Gift of Gab once again displays a versatile flow, from steady rhymes over mellow beats to the jaw-dropping verbal gymnastics that fans have come to expect.  The problem is that The Craft feels like it was modeled after Blazing Arrow but containing nowhere near the creative energy as its predecessor.  Instead, most of the songs feel lukewarm and bogged down by awkward choruses (World of Vibrations, Your Move).  Gift of Gab is spelling things again on Rhythm Sticks; what's new?  And is Side to Side supposed to be a poor carnival version of Ms. Fat Booty?  Ego Sonic War Drums is the most experimental track but it falls flat on its face because it feels so deliberate and forced, as if Blackalicious are trying to make up for their more mainstream sound.

By the time things start to turn around with Automatique, one wonders if it's too little too late.  The gripping track The Fall and Rise of Elliot Brown follows.  Here, Gift of Gab uses his lightning flow to portray the get-rich-quick dreams of young starry-eyed hustlers.  He slows it down to describe the somber story in greater detail but observant folks will note that the words "rise" and "fall" are reversed from their usual order in the title.  Indeed, our protagonist ends up embarking on a path of reform and awareness.  The positive tip continues with Black Diamonds and Pearls, a song directed at young black men and women that inspires them to continue with the struggle without sugarcoating the social problems facing urban youth.  Now any hip-hop head can tell you that songs like that don't come off lukewarm at all.