Black Star - "Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star"

“Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star” was released on September 29, 1998 on Rawkus Records. The name Black Star pays tribute to the Black Star Line, which was a shipping company established, with the help of Marcus Garvey, to help incoporate Black owned businesses into the global economy, thereby promoting economic independence in the Black community. The Black Star moniker was aptly chosen because like the Black Star Line, Mos Def (now known as Yasin Bey) and Talib Kweli were socially conscious, pro-Black and their label was independent. Both Mos Def and Talib Kweli, who both had already released singles on Rawkus, postponed their solo projects in order to work on an album together. Half of the tracks were produced by the Rawkus staple, Hi-Tek, and the other half were split up between Da Beatminerz, Shawn J. Period, J. Rawls, Ge-ology and 88-Keys. Many consider the Black Star album to be the finest of the Rawkus releases and the collaboration between Mos and Talib to be one of the best duos in Hip Hop history. 

 Guest review with Sean (@bort_sampson_) 

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Chris: So why did you want to review “Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star”? 

Sean: I like reviewing these old Rawkus records in general because they were so ingrained in our lives back then. Damn near every drop, we were at Hastings coping the new – Talib, Hi-Tek, Big L, Reflection Eternal. And the one that had already dropped, we copped those too – Mos, Pharaoh, High & Mighty, and of course Black Star. Give that we both consider this album a classic, I wanted to see what your current thought on it were, and if you still considered it a classic. 

Chris: Indeed, that was back when you were judged by the quality of your CD book. I don’t think I ate lunch one time in High School haha. All that lunch money went towards CDs.

I actually heard “Black on Both Sides” before I had heard the Black Star album and I’m pretty sure the first time I heard it was on a burned copy I had gotten from you, Sean. Do you guys have any memories of listening to “Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star”?

Sean: Same here. “Black on Both Side” was my introduction to both Mos and Talib. I do remember thinking I had to cop Black Star the moment I found out about it. I think it actually took a minute to find it in store and being pretty stoked when I finally did.

Chris: Oh man! I love that feeling of finding a coveted album in the stores. You don’t get that nowadays just the disappointment of when something is available for streaming like De La Soul’s catalog, although you can find it all, in various qualities, on YouTube.

A lot of people consider “Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star” to be one of the shining examples of the Conscious Hip Hop movement of the late 90s and early 2000s. Is Conscious Hip Hop a sub-genre you gravitated towards? Is there a song in particular on this album that stood out for its message?

Sean: Not necessarily. I would say my taste in Hip Hop was pretty broad. On one hand, I loved artists that were “conscious” or “backpackers”, like Black Star, Common, De La Soul, Tribe, etc. But, I also loved old school, early 90s Dr Dre, Snoop, Ice Cube. On a third hand, I also liked the late 90s Cash Money squad, Pop Rap, and underground stuff. And I wouldn’t listen to something simply because it was something, I tried to keep a pretty open mind.

Chris: I’m definitely on the same boat as you. It was pretty much all just Hip Hop to me but I do remember a lot of people referred to “conscious” Hip Hop as “underground” Hip Hop. Definitely was asked the question, “Do you like Underground?” and remember people saying they were only into “underground.” I guess because “conscious” Hip Hop was pushed on the airwaves as much some of the other musicians you mentioned.

 

Chris: DJ Hi-Tek produced “Definition”, “Re:Definition”, “K.O.S.”, “Respiration” and “Twice Inna Lifetime” on this album. Where do you think Hi-Tek’s work on this album ranks with the rest of his discography? 

Sean: I think pretty high, if not his best. I mean, this album is pretty widely considered to be the pinnacle of the Rawkus catalog, and the songs you mentioned are some stone cold classics. So, I think by definition, it almost has to be his best work. Hi-Tek was pretty instrumental in shaping the Rawkus sound and put out so many bangers for Rawkus back then, so I think it’s closer than one would think. The Reflection Eternal and “Hi-Teknology” albums are pretty underrated in my opinion, and generally speaking Hi-Tek doesn’t get enough love for his work. I was looking for “Hi-Teknology” the other day on Rhapsody and was disappointed it wasn’t streaming there.

Chris: Definitely. Mike and I actually reviewed “Hi-Teknology” in one of our earlier posts and I felt like it really held up. Based on the tracks mentioned here, Black Star almost should be Mos, Talib and Hi-Tek but then again, I was so pumped to hear a Black Star album with Madlib behind the boards! Hopefully, we’ll get to hear that one day.

I think one of the cool things about Mos and Talib is the homage they pay to Hip Hop. There is “B Boys will B Boys”, the reinterpretation of Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story”, the BDP inspired “Definition” and many other references throughout the album. Is this something that you enjoyed as well?

Black Star - "Definition"

Boogie Down Productions - "Remix for P is Free"

 

Yellowman – “Zungguzungguzungguzeng”

 

Sean: It was something I appreciated the more I listened to it and the older I got. Back then, I was less invested in the homages or references they were making than I was in whether or not I connected with the song. Once you connect, then you begin to take that next step and dig deeper into the material, which is what happened to me. And I think that’s a pretty cool way to learn about the history of something.

Chris: Did you all have any favorite tracks?

Sean: My favorite track is “Respiration.”

Chris: That’s a great one! Mine has become a favorite track now that we decided to revisit this album, “Thieves in the Night”. Bree and I saw Talib in concert about a year ago. I think of seen Talib literally about 15 times in my lifetime. We used to have this joke that he was rent a room in house behind LA Underground. Anyway, he introduced the song “Thieves in the Night” by saying it wasn’t a song he performed very often but he felt like it was very pertinent during these times and I couldn’t agree more. The chorus is a quote for Toni Morrison’s book “The Bluest Eye”. I really recommend the book and giving the song a couple of more spins. 

Black Star - "Thieves in the Night"

 

Chris: Let’s talk about the song “Respiration.” Of course, it features Common, who although he wasn’t signed to Rawkus Records but appeared on 3 of the Top 10 Rawkus songs, according to Complex. Actually, Complex has their number 1 song in their ranking of the Top 50 Rawkus Records Songs. Since you guys are pretty well versed in the Rawkus catalog, do you agree with that ranking? 

 Black Star feat. Common - "Respiration"

  

Sean: Yes, I agree with that. To me, it’s the quintessential Rawkus song – first, you have two hyper intellectual MCs that were probably the biggest names on the label and a third hyper intellectual MC who could’ve been, and who should have and who many people thought was. Second, the subject material was classic Rawkus – a deep look at the world around each of them, much deeper that “murder, drugs and bitches” and other Gangsta rap ethos of the time. And finally, it was produced by Hi-Tek, who played a large role in shaping the Rawkus sound. If I could only listen to one track from the Rawkus catalog, this would probably be it.

Chris: Knowing how big of a fan you are of “Black on Both Side”, I thought you would have said “Ms. Fatbooty”. I actually don’t agree with the ranking. When I think of THEE quintessential Rawkus song, the first one that comes to my mind is “1-9-9-9” or even “Definition” from this album. I was surprised Complex ranked “1-9-9-9” 5th and “Definition” was 27th! 

So this is the third Rawkus release we’ve reviewed together (“Black on Both Side, “Home Field Advantage” and now “Black Star”). On our review of “Home Field Advantage,” the three of us all agreed that “Black Star” was the best album in the Rawkus discography. Now that the album is a little fresher in our minds, do you still feel the same about the album?

Sean:  I do agree with that – this still is the gold standard of Rawkus records for me, along with “Black on Both Sides”. Great flows, great beats, a deep dive into Hip Hop history, phenomenal album art work and two MCs who were at the height of their abilities. In addition, it has a good mix of bangers, “Definition” and “Re:Definition”, and more introspective songs, like “Brown Skin Lady” and “Thieves in the Night”, and a certifiable classic that is and in an introspective banger like “Respiration”. This album is like J Lo, it just keeps getting better with age.