Some of our gorgeous family are visiting for Easter so this Classic Album Martini Saturday was inspired and dedicated to them. We indulged in vetoing selections from the basket until a hip hop album was selected. Nebraska and Nashville Skyline couldn't cut it but Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star would do just perfectly. Eliza and Dyl were beside themselves.
Black Star was a seminal moment in hip-hop. Released in 1998 after the deaths of Biggie and Tupac, it offered an alternative to the self-indulgent aggression, violence and hedonism of west coast rap that dominated hip hop in the mid-1990s. Black Star was the re-birth of soulful, positive rap music. Honest, informed hip hop with something to say. Tracks like Brown Skin Lady talked about women being equal - a woman as a woman, not a bitch or a ho.
Mos Def and Talib Kweli. Both were young and both had flows that could go for days and days. Raw, yet polished. Rapid fire delivery but easy rhymes.
Many hip hop albums are collections of average songs built around a few hook-laden keystone singles. But together, Mos Def and Talib Kweli delivered a complete album with consistent themes and songs that ease into each other. Creatively on the same page, complementing each other with equally solid verses through the entire album.
Hi-Tek's beats give the album a mood. Smooth, but edgy. The beats lay the foundation for the song without trying to dominate it with tricks. The 'Style Wars' sample reminds you of the birth of hip hop and the original energy of teenagers creating art with no boundaries, before hip hop became hip pop.
That's not to say that the album doesn't have any hooks. Definition and Re: Definitions have the killer chant - One two three/Mos Def and Talib Kweli/We came to rock it on to the tip top/Best alliance in hip hop, Y-O/
This is known as 'conscious rap'. It's an interesting term to delineate hip hop with rhymes about social issues and personal struggles from hip hop that's just about money and girls. The lyrics are positive, looking to inspire and involve the audience. It's not about gangs but it is about the street. This album pulled in the opposite direction to where most mainstream rap was going at the time (and still is). Part of why hip hop has always had artists to do that is maybe because up-and-coming artists are less beholden to record companies. In the beginning, record companies were not interested in hip hop, so emcees and DJs formed their own labels and released their own music. It was the first mainstream DIY genre.
Mos Def and Talib offered wisdom, clarity and peace. Perfect for an Easter Saturday with family.
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