You may have heard their tongue twisting song “Alphabet Aerobics” almost everywhere after it blew up in pop culture due actor Daniel Radcliffe’s rendition on the Tonight Show. Hip-hop duo Blackalicious, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ Chief Xcel, will be performing at the M-Shop on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 8 p.m.

With a career spanning around 20 years, the Californian rap act has released four full length albums, the latest of which is “Imani Vol. 1,” dropped in 2015 almost a decade after the duo parted ways to work on solo material and other projects. This album will be the first in a trilogy of projects form Gab and Xcel celebrating their return to hip-hop.

The word Imani in the album’s title means faith in Swahili, an underlying topic that resurfaces time and time again not only in this particular album but in earlier releases as well.

Aside from the clear and crisp yet complex rhymes the duo’s work is known for having, the messages of faith and spirituality within their albums are an iconic part of their music. A part which they pull off without harshly pushing their message on to listeners or being preachy.

Blackalicious’ eccentricity and idiosyncrasies also shine through in their work, all the while staying positive and uplifting rather than violent, quite unlike other types of rap.

Vice President of Administration Hannah Walton of the Student Union Board is expecting a good crowd to attend the hip-hop show due to their notoriety.

“I think this concert will be high energy just because I feel like a lot of people are very familiar with the [group’s] name. [They’re] one of the more known artists performing this semester and their concert is bound to be a lot of fun.” Walton says. 

Tickets are $10 with a student ID and $15 for the public. Tickets can be purchased at the M-Shop box office or online via Midwestix.com.