sharing a stage with the likes of Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch still seems a bit awkward. K’Naan stuck out like a very enjoyable sore thumb on this summer’s Rock the Bells tour and the idea of M.I.A. Still, though they are respected, few in the hip-hop community seem to recognize them as hip-hop artists. This is not a new phenomenon, but the advent of the Internet has brought international artists like K’Naan and M.I.A. Now it is time for Mos Def to shine the spotlight on where rap will be headed in the next decade.Īnd where rap is headed is around the world. The movement will reach its logical conclusion later this year with Lil Wayne’s long-awaited rock album. Hip-hop has responded loud and clear, often to embarrassing results, as groups like Gym Class Heroes and N.E.R.D. On his solo debut Mos explored the Black roots of rock n’ roll and its link to hip-hop on the aptly titled “Rock n Roll”, before expanding the formula into an entire album on The New Danger. Kweli’s verse is as good as anything we have heard from him in years and both rappers sound strong enough to have any fan praying that this Black Star 2 thing really happens.īut while Mos may be a poster child for hip-hop fans who spend too much time in the past, his true strength is in always finding a way to call attention to genre trends that should be glaringly obvious, yet somehow remain buried under all the “real hip hop” backslapping. Mos the album’s one Dilla beat for the occasion. Nowhere is Mos Def’s reverence for the past clearer than on “History”, his reunion with fellow Black Star emcee Talib Kweli. Simply conjuring up memories of a generation of Black and Hispanic youth spitting “Peace and Love and Unity and Having Fun!” in the face of one of America’s ugliest ghettos is a more powerful political statement than anything on that Street Sweeper Social Club record. Songs like album opener “Supermagic” prove that an artist can be socially conscious without blatantly political - or even sensical - lyrics. Here, four albums into his solo career, he is still channeling the street corners through the hand claps and “up-jump-the-boogie” chants of “Quiet Dog” and other tracks. Mos Def may be modern rap’s most loyal disciple of classic hip-hop. It is into this scene that Mos decided to reemerge as strong as ever. is in jail and the underground is far too busy flooding the Internet with mixtapes to put together a proper LP. Lil Wayne has been fiddling with a guitar, Kanye has been fiddling with his blog, T.I. But the first half of 2009 has been undeniably brutal. I generally try and distance myself from the fatalism of the “hip-hop is dead” camp, opting for a much sunnier “hip-hop is different” stance. ![]() Everything about the album gave the impression of an artist who could not care less about his music career, from the lazy beats and rhymes to the complete lack of any form of album art.īut The Ecstatic is artistic, in a time when the genre needs it more than ever. It wasn’t just that the music was bad (though it certainly was). His last album, Tru3 Magic, was a complete flop. The idea of celebrating the act of being alive seems so in line with the vibe of a classic hip-hop show, and Mos Def embodies the joy of the genre as well as anyone.įor a while there it appeared Mos was done with hip-hop forever. ![]() In retrospect, it is quite possible that he actually called us “live”, but I choose to believe I got the quote right. This bit of Mos Def stage banter was my favorite moment of a show I saw a couple years ago.
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