Blackalicious breaks out the beats on tour

Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel--a.k.a. Blackalicious--are tackling a late-winter/early spring tour that supports their most recent album, "The Craft."

The West Coast pair is currently hitting clubs and theaters on their home turf, and will work their way east before winding up in the Boston area at the end of April. The route includes a March 16 stop at the annual SXSW music festival in Austin. Details are included below.

Last September, Blackalicious dropped "The Craft," the duo's fifth album overall, and its inaugural release for Anti Records.

"The Craft is our passion to bring discipline to this music, the passion to keep growing, keep stretching, keep doing things we haven't before," Chief Xcel said in a statement. "The craft is what we live for."

Free MP3 versions of two tracks from the album--"Powers" and "My Pen & Pad"--are available at Blackalicious' website.