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Last September, the underground hip-hop community lost their stuff when a new Mos Def track dropped out of the sky. The track, “Sensei on the Block”, featured the Brooklyn rapper at his finest, over a killer steel-drum beat by Ski Beatz1. Many, me included, thought that this was a return to glory for the Mighty Mos Def – both from a lyrics and titular perspective (in late 2011, Mos decide to perform under his gov’t name – Yasiin Bey).
Continue reading “Ten Songs from 2015 that you should be listening to: #10 Yasiin Bey’s Sensei On The Block”
Tag: mos def
My Favorite Albums: Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star
I first heard Black Star in the summer of 1999. I was between my senior and “super senior1” years in college and was interning in New York (working on Long Island, living in Brooklyn). It was a special time in my life; I was evaluating my next steps through all prisms (social, spiritual, economic) and was making key decisions about the direction I wanted to take.
New York was the perfect backdrop for my sometimes poignant, often pointless ponderings on life. The city was a hotbed of activity and I took in my fair share –readings at Nuyorican Poets Cafe, jazz at the Blue Note, way-too-late nights out at countless Reggae clubs, and long walks throughout Manhattan.
It was on one of those long walks that I came across Black Star; by chance I walked into a free concert in Central Park. N’Dea Davenport was the featured performer. She was good… but the real stars were the lyrical duo of Mos2 and Talib. They flowed effortlessly on stage, as if they had been doing it for years.
I wrote their names down in my quotes book (along with the line “Your skin is the inspiration for cocoa butter”) and went on about my business… forgetting about them after a while.
Continue reading “My Favorite Albums: Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star”