https://www.youtube.com/embed/DMwjOePe8eE This is a mysteriously beautiful interlude - a look into that “synaptic space” from last time - that in some way is the hinge that holds the album together through an ambient night-time streetscape. As the last strains of "we take the Black Star Line, right on home" give way to spoken word performances, the … Continue reading Yo Yeah (track 10)
Hater Players (Track 9)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/3iewg3zp-yI This song seems to come pretty hard at the same folks that “Re-Definition” was going after but a little more in the vernacular of a more straightforward diss track. About halfway through, though, we get this an unexpected urban landscape painting: Visions occupy my synaptic spaceCommand and shape, to illustrate my mind's landscapeThe tall … Continue reading Hater Players (Track 9)
K.O.S. (Determination) (track 8)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/kETkgRNSVzk One of the great programmatic statements of the album begins this track, after a side conversation - So many MC’s focus in on Black people exterminationwe keep it balanced with that knowledge of self-determination What strikes me here is “we” gets bigger and bigger - but at the same time, it’s like it’s been … Continue reading K.O.S. (Determination) (track 8)
“B Boys Will Be Boys” (Track 7)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/2YVrdLEeKMU As one catalog ends - from the end of "Brown-Skinned Lady," calling in the great circle of “indigenous women of the planet earth,” another more local (and masculine) one begins, as Mos Def and Talib Kweli keep working to make good on their promise that “a cypher will compete us”: I want all the … Continue reading “B Boys Will Be Boys” (Track 7)
“Brown-Skinned Lady” (Track 6)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/XPcdO9CFhWI "Brown-Skinned Lady" is both an ordinary love song and also a deeply intellectual engagement with intersectional feminism. And just like with "Re:Definition," I'm approaching these contexts with humility, as they get to some of the core issues raised by theories that are not primarily about or for me. Even so I think there is such a … Continue reading “Brown-Skinned Lady” (Track 6)
“Children’s Story” (Track 5)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/2CagQFPm3JY The opening four tracks of Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star feel like they form a kind of opening act. The fifth song on the album, "Children's Story," a cover (sort of) of Slick Rick's song of the same name, marks the album's first real break in the action. We feel the beat … Continue reading “Children’s Story” (Track 5)
Re:Definition (Track 4)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/fr6SrRQnZv4 "Definition" (youtube/spotify) and "Re:Definition" (youtube/spotify) roll together like one continuous track, but also like 2 mirror images: "Definition" is joyful and celebratory; "Re:Definition" is "turnin' your play into a tragedy." The key change (and subtle downshift in rhythm) work to make the same "one two three" chorus now land differently. This track is a much … Continue reading Re:Definition (Track 4)
Definition (Track 3)
I think this is the album's the catchiest track. The lyricism here is joyfully overwhelming- I’ll try my best to exemplify what it feels like to listen to it. It has a ridiculously infectious beat and the “one two three…” chorus but then, you stop to listen at any given line and you just can’t … Continue reading Definition (Track 3)
Astronomy (8th Light)
That's what hip-hop is: It's sociology and English put to a beat, you know. Talib Kweli Now fast forward to post-post-pandemic 2023, and Malachi, a student (all the names are changed) exasperated, looks at me after listening to Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star for the first time and says “this whole album … Continue reading Astronomy (8th Light)
Interlude – Some Light in the Darkness – Student Adventures in Pandemic Podcasting
I’ve asked students to analyze Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star for the last three years - the first time came that winter was just a couple months after that first listening (right after the 1/6 insurrection, as a matter of fact). I have this weakness as a teacher - almost anything I … Continue reading Interlude – Some Light in the Darkness – Student Adventures in Pandemic Podcasting
Original Positions 