I knew y’all knew a hip-hop album would be coming sooner or later. I was struggling to pick one, I wanted it to be a classic but I also wanted it to have meaning while also still being accessible to those who don’t listen to much hip-hop. And because I love East Coast rap, I knew I’d have to go with something by Mos Def and ultimately went with my one of my favorite hip-hop records of all time, his debut album Black on Both Sides.
Mos Def (now goes by Yasiin Bey) is well known for his hip-hop career but also for his activism both in and outside the hip-hop community. This album explores racial politics, police brutality, as well as his left-wing political ideologies. I emphasize this because this was at a time in hip-hop history where it was more commercially acceptable to be rapping about anything but politics, but Yasiin embraces this and does it in a, in my opinion, masterfully creative way.
Each track features thought provoking rhymes laid over beats inspired by jazz, 80s synth, and rock. If anyone is familiar with East Coast rap, it’s pretty evident how much influence groups like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul had on Yasiin. There’s enough sonic variety between the tracks to still grab your attention and make you want to hear what Yasiin is saying behind his passionate way of rapping. I know some here don’t care much for lyrics, but I feel like it’s kind of hard to not want to hear what Yasiin is saying - his way of getting his words across is quiet unique for his time. In a way, Kendrick sorry of reminds me of Yasiin’s style because of his ability to want listeners to hear a message - to get more out of a song than just a cool beat and some creative rhymes.
I’m intersted in hearing what your favorite tracks are. UMI Says is a pure classic for me, one of my all time favorite hip-hop tracks. But songs like Mr. Nigga, Mathematics, and Brooklyn are also instrumentally and lyrically well structured within the album. I will say taking some time to look up the lyrics of a couple tracks will only add to the experience. It’s what this album is known for but it’ll also allow you to understand what Yasiin is about and how hip-hop has evolved (and revolved maybe?) over time.
Yasiin’s eloquence shines on this record. He effortlessly drops bar after bar of lines that make the listener want to engage with him. He does so in a very cool, calm, and collected way as well - his voice is so smooth even when he’s rapping about very real issues minority communities face like the prison industry complex or police brutality. He has one of the most charismatic personas in hip-hop and I remember first listening to this album and really being blown away by his style and what he had to say. Hope you all enjoy!
This comment will probably be pretty short simply because i don't have enough hip hop listening under my belt to feel as comfortable gauging this album as I would with albums of other genres. That being said...
ReplyDeleteSuuuuuuper chill vibes from this album, and I say that recognizing that a lot of the lyrical content has to do with oppression. This album seems very relevant now which is a little bittersweet. It's great that the album content doesn't feel dated to me, but when a lot of that content has to do with unfair treatment it gains a solemn power. Most of the track feel fairly low key to me but in a way that's (mostly) very calming as opposed to boring. I think a lot of this has to do with Yasiin's cool but impassioned delivery.
Or maybe the slick effect this album has has to do with the backing beats. All of the accompaniment seems unique to me. There's also some really nice sampling in several tracks like in Ms. Fat Booty.
Not every track on this album really stuck with me though. Got is a little too minimal for me to really feel hooked, and while I thought the speed rock ending to Rock N Roll was definitely unique it wasn't great or enough to make up for the rest of the song for me.
I think maybe my favorite track on this Habitat. This is the track were I really noticed an 80s style, which I can be lukewarm on, but here works great. I can't get enough of these funky af synths. I also really liked the intro to the album addressing comments about the state of hip hop. I haven't listened to any of the other Mos Def albums yet, but I definitely will at some point.
Like Erik, I'm also going to start off by saying my experience with hip-hop is pretty limited, being a middle-class white boy and all. However, that did not impede my enjoyment of the album at all. I feel like if ever there were a hip-hop album for me, it would be something like this. The subject matters were something I could understand and care about, even if I couldn't necessarily relate to them.
ReplyDeleteI found the first four songs to be great, but then there was a slight dip in quality. However, the song "UMI Says" sort of acted as an oasis in this desert. In fact, it's probably my favorite song on the album. It sounds really nice, and almost reminds me of a Toro y Moi song at certain parts. The integration of Jazz instrumentals was one of my favorite parts of listening to this album. There are some nice samples used too, as evident in "Ms. Fat Booty". The album picked up for me again near the end. The five song streak that ends the album is full of great sounds and lyrics. I think my favorite under appreciated song is probably "Habitat".
I had to break the album up into parts on every listen. There's a lot to take in here, and I wanted to be sure to appreciate it all equally, since I have a tendency to zone out after listening to longer albums (especially if I'm trying to pay attention to the lyrics). For this reason, I would say that I prefer the individual songs rather than the album as a whole.
I liked this album, and may come back to some songs if I'm ever in the mood to. I'm also thinking about recommending this album to any of my friends who want to get into hip-hop themselves. I give this album three thumbs up 👍👍👍
I enjoyed this album a lot. Hip-hop has always been a genre I have admired from a distance while listening occasionally to mega-hyped artists you would expect an "indie" white girl to know (Kendrick, RTJ, A Tribe Called Quest). Every time I do go through a rap phase I enjoy it incredibly and wish I had the time to delve deeper into the whole history and progression of the genre but it's intimidating and generally takes longer to digest the lyrical content and I don't really know how to "talk" about "beats" "intelligently" so I rarely do more than skim the surface.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this album a lot. Hip-hop has always been a genre I have admired from a distance while listening occasionally to mega-hyped artists you would expect an "indie" white girl to know (Kendrick, RTJ, A Tribe Called Quest). Every time I do go through a rap phase I enjoy it incredibly and wish I had the time to delve deeper into the whole history and progression of the genre but it's intimidating and generally takes longer to digest the lyrical content and I don't really know how to "talk" about "beats" "intelligently" so I rarely do more than skim the surface.
I had never heard of Mos Def but I'm glad I have now and will definitely be trying out some of his other stuff in the future. My favorite songs were probably Hip Hop, Ms. Fat Booty, Got, Rock N Roll, and Mr. Nigga. The sample in Ms. Fat Booty is sweet and I thought Rock N Roll was really creative and different. I actually thought Habitat stood out to me as my least favorite song on the album unlike Parker and Erik. There was too much repetition of the chorus which I thought was a bit cheesy and heavy-handed. Also one little thing that I liked a lot was Mos Def making siren sounds along with the real sirens in Fear Not of Men, it made me smile.
I do think this album had slow points and overall was probably not something I will be listening to often as a whole, but I'm glad I got the full effect of the album as a whole a few times. I think Erik described very well the impact the current relevance of the album. Some of the themes discussed reminded me of the same boldness as the subjects Kendrick tackled in TPAB this year.
Nice listen, top notch jams as always from Maz. Feel free to give me more hip hop recs whenever.
I enjoyed listening to this album but found it taking a background role in the course of my day - it didn't grab my attention. I'm not a hip-hop guy in general and I respect the talent Mos Def has and dug some of the samples and instrumentals. I did try reading through the lyrics and they didn't really grab me either. I dunno, just not my thing, but I know it's good.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the end of the album much more than the beginning and the middle. My favorite songs were Habitat, Mr. Nigga, and Mathematics. I feel like the album gets a bit funkier towards the end, which I like a lot. I think Mathematics was in NBA Street which is one of the best video games ever.
I'm not sure what else to say, unfortunately. I know this isn't much of a contribution but it just didn't grab me.
I feel like I'm gonna be letting you down right now. This just didn't catch my attention very much. Something about his delivery and flow just left me uninterested. I feel like a lot of the songs sound similar, (maybe this is just because I couldn't dive into it), but that combined with the album's length left me feeling a bit underwhelmed.
ReplyDeleteSome of the tunes did bring me in though. Hearing Busta on Do It Now certainly caught my ear. I liked the samples in Ms.Fat Booty, UMI Says is a dope song overall, Rock N Roll has a very chill and cool vibe, and like some of the others I enjoyed Habitat.
Maybe I'm broken because the first time I saw Mos Def he was playing Ford Prefect in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie so I take him less serious. I'm sure his message is a good and legitimate one, but I just couldn't get into the album enough to really hear it for what it's worth.
I will try this album more soon when I have more of a chance to really dive into the lyrics and understand what he's saying, because right now I just am not feeling it. I am a fan of hip hop and I know you know your stuff Maz. If you say it's a classic, I believe you. So, I'll be sure to revisit.