Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star

by Black Star, Talib Kweli, Mos Def

Overview

While Puff Daddy and his followers continued to dictate the direction hip-hop would take into the millennium, Mos Def and Talib Kweli surfaced from the underground to pull the sounds in the opposite direction. Their 13 rhyme fests on this superior, self-titled debut as Black Star show that old-school rap still sounds surprisingly fresh in the sea of overblown vanity productions. There's no slack evident in the tight wordplays of Def and Kweli as they twist and turn through sparse, jazz-rooted rhythms calling out for awareness and freedom of the mind. Their viewpoints stem directly from the teachings of Marcus Garvey, the legendary activist who fought for the rights of blacks all around the world in the first half of the 20th century. Def and Kweli's ideals are sure lofty; not only are they out to preach Garvey's words, but they also hope to purge rap music of its negativity and violence. For the most part, it works. Their wisdom-first philosophy hits hard when played off their lyrical intensity, a bass-first production, and stellar scratching. While these MCs don't have all of the vocal pizzazz of A Tribe Called Quest's Phife and Q-Tip at their best, flawless tracks like the cool bop of "K.O.S. (Determination)" and "Definition" hint that Black Star is only the first of many brilliantly executed positive statements for these two street poets. ~ Jason Kaufman

Product Details

Release Date:	06/04/2002
Label:	Rawkus
UPC:	0008811289720
Rank:	243192

Tracks

1. Intro
2. Astronomy (8th Light)
3. Definition
4. RE: DEFinition
5. Children's Story
6. Brown Skin Lady
7. B Boys Will B Boys
8. K.O.S. (Determination)
9. Hater Players
10. Yo Yeah
11. Respiration
12. Thieves in the Night
13. Twice Inna Lifetime

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Black Star   Primary Artist
Mos Def   Primary Artist,Vocals,Fender Rhodes
Talib Kweli   Primary Artist,Vocals,Co-Producer
Common   Guest Artist,Lead Vocals,Featured Artist
Weldon Irvine   Guest Artist,Keyboards,Featured Artist
Hi-Tek   Scratching,Turntables,Crowd Noise,Vocals
Richard Mason   Crowd Noise
AL Skills   Vocals,Crowd Noise
Jane Doe   Lead Vocals,Featured Artist
Vinia Mojica   Lead Vocals,Featured Artist
Punch & Words   Featured Artist
Rich Medina   Vocals
Punch   Featured Artist
Words   Featured Artist
Apani B Fly Emcee   Vocals,Featured Artist
DJ Evil Dee   Scratching,Turntables
Wordsworth   Lead Vocals
Ge-ology   Vocals,Crowd Noise
DeChown Jenkins   Guitar
Punchline   Lead Vocals

Technical Credits

Mr. Walt   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Marcus Garvey   Photography
Tasleem   Photography
Dante Smith   Composer
Franck Khalfoun   Photography
Conunon   Performer
Vaughn Sessions   Engineer
Eddie Otchere-Dhagren   Photography
Brent Rollins   Artwork,Cover Art
Pat Viola   Engineer
Steve Souder   Mixing
Success   Engineer
Jake Septimus   Photography
Pat Viala   Engineer
Jason Rawls   Composer
Talib Kweli Greene   Composer
Weldon Irvine   Performer
Tony Cottrell   Composer
Shawn J. Period   Producer
Kieran Walsh   Mixing,Engineer
Chris Athens   Mastering
Ken "Duro" Ifill   Mixing
Black Star   Artwork,Performer,Art Direction
Common   Performer
Talib Kweli   Producer,Performer
Charlie Mack   Engineer
Vinia Mojica   Composer,Performer
Jane Doe   Performer
Jim Godsey   Engineer
Rick St. Hillaire   Mixing
Surge   Engineer
88-Keys   Producer
Apani B Fly Emcee   Performer
DJ Evil Dee   Cut
J. Rawls   Producer
Ge-ology   Producer
Sudan   Engineer
Hi-Tek   Cut,Producer