I am mostly sure that the world will end sometime in September. Why you ask?
Mos Def has a brand new album coming out. Sure, to those of you who are not
familiar with Mos Def's musical career this may not seem like a big deal but
considering that it took five long years between 1999's "Black on Both
Sides" and 2004's "The New Danger" it's pretty amazing. The new disc is
called "Tru3 Magic" and will available on September 19th via Geffen Records.
It looks like Kanye West and Pharrell produced a couple of the tracks so
given how Mos has emerged as a viable movie star it looks as if it might be
time for him to start selling millions of records instead of thousands. I
can't say I'm surprised but it will be slightly awkward to hear a Mos Def
song after some hack with Lil in front of his name. I don't have any music
from the new album just yet but I have the most recent thing that I know he
has released and I put up a couple of other tracks. If you absolutely love
these songs, and you should, then check out all the music that he made with
Talib Kweli under the moniker Black Star.
:Mos Def - Umi Says (Zero 7 Remix): The
original version of this song, which can be found on "Black on Both Sides,"
is pretty fantastic but just about everyone has heard that one so I figured
that I would post up this remix. Zero 7 has always been hit or miss with me
but I really like this remix because they kept the simplicity and grassroots
feeling of the original and added a number of layers that enhance but don't
overwhelm. Give it a shot and listen to how well the song now carries a
really neat vintage vibe.
:Mos Def - Sex, Love, And Money: This is my
favorite song from the album, "The New Danger," and I while I probably could
have put up something a bit more "rare" I wanted to share this with those
that have not heard much Mos Def. I know that for some this album was hit or
miss but I really liked how he branched out and tried a bunch of different
styles of music. This is not one of the more bluesy or rock inspired songs
from the disc but it is one of the more well crafted and polished hip hop
ones that most were expecting from this album.
:Mos Def - Wylin Out featuring Diverse (Kut Masta Kurt
Remix): This is from the "Chocolate Swim EP" that Adult Swim put out
a couple of months ago. I don't know if this song will be on the new disc
but it wouldn't surprise me if was. Given that this song has him splitting
time with Diverse and it is a remix it is hard to see what direction he
might be going on his new album. On the other hand there was an obvious
change of production levels between his first and second albums and this
feels like a nice mix of both records.
-
John Laird -
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