Let's begin with a little background. Anticipation for Black Star's full-length has run high, especially among the growing legion of underground heads who are eager to see the pop music world embrace a more 'authentic' hip-hop vibe. Enter Black Star, whose initial efforts on 12"" have been nothing less than exemplary; if you own a turntable and frequent stores that stock independent hip-hop singles you know what I mean. With the first single off Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, ""Definition,"" burning up the rap singles chart, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, a.k.a. Black Star. are successfully injecting a pro-social message back into hip-hop at a time when nothing could be more needed, or more courageous.
Don't look to Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star to contain Mos Def and Talib Kweli's best songs (""Universal Magnetic,"" ""Fortified Live""), 'cause they're not on this record! That aside, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star is still an excellent record. Maybe more importantly, it's a different kind of hip-hop record. It's ironic that one of the most creative groups working in hip-hop (and two of the most outspoken opponents of the lack of creativity in hip-hop) would find commercial success via what amounts to a cover of BDP's ""Stop the Violence."" Even if ""Definition"" seems to contradict some of what Black Star purports to believe in, it's a nice change to see anything from Rawkus at the top of the rap singles chart (number three this week).
If you haven't heard, Mos Def sounds a lot like Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest. Seeing as Tribe called it quits, right about now is a good time for a talented young MC to burst onto the scene with a voice that brings to mind a hip-hop innovator. Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star is a record that's designed to make you think rather than dance. This threw me off, initially. Eventually I came to realize that no one would call Al Green to task for not including more club joints on a classic record like I'm Still in Love With You. Like Lauryn Hill, Black Star have chosen the high road and they deserve props for it. Like Lauryn Hill's new record, this one points towards a more mature sound emerging in black music. Both records even have a faux woodblock print on their covers, much like Bob Marley's Wailin', foreshadowing the organic vibe to be found within.
