|
|
|
» The Archives
|
:::Music Review:::
|
 |
Mos Def
by William Ashanti Hobbs
author and co-owner of Meroen Press
November 2004
This Music Review is sponsored by:
1102 S. Adams St., ste.#5 - Tallahassee, FL 32301
850.222.6940 - www.flavamusic.net
|
This Music Review is
Sponsored by:
|
|
Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything
that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative
vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of
the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.
- Cecil Beaton
Perhaps this should have been named Mos Def presents
his rock band Black Jack Johnson (BJJ), which in
itself is a perilous gamble for the
keep-it-real-paranoia of hip hop… One thing’s for
sure, Mos ain’t givin’ a damn.
|
|
Not only is he looking
to take risks, he’s looking to be outright dangerous
with it. Mos’ album goes off like a stylistic grenade,
which will make it difficult for those with
preconceived notions of Mos to hold on to with both
hands. Mos’ "Black on Both Sides" CD hipped us all to
his penchant toward true instrumentation, but no way
in hell could anyone figure the progression would come
to this.
"The Boogie Man Song" is surfer rock meets jazz. The
thinly-arranged instrumentation best suits Mos’
behind-the-beat singing style. The Michelle N’Dege
O’Cello-styled vibe on the song is throughout most of
the album, save blistering moments of hard rock.
"Freaky Black Greetings" brings BJJ out front, with
the heavy guitar crunch that caught many by surprise
on "Black on Both Side"’s song "Rock ‘N Roll." Layered
with echo-laden lyrics and a seventies-fashioned
organ, this song will have most hip hoppers grabbing
the CD case and looking over Mos’ photographic twists
of minstrelsy on the inside of the liner notes,
wondering what Mos is trying to pull off.
"Ghetto Rock"’s name should hip you to what’s up. With
an industrial-synth groove and super fly guitars, Mos
is off to spitting on what the BJJ is all about. This
is the most explosive attempt at merging the abrasive
buzz of hard rock with the attitude and hip hop by a
black rapper since Ice-T pissed off Warner Brothers
and the Fraternal Order of Police with Body Count.
"Zimzallabim" goes in the same vein. Mos kicks it over
a standard New Yorker’s backpack beat with stabs of
whirring distorted guitars (playing backwards in some
instances). The effect brings to mind a montage of
burning Newports, unlaced Tims and bubble jackets
against staircases. By now, it should be obvious to
you the Renaissance man Mos is serious about this rock
***t.
Although not as sonically absorbing, "The Rape Over"
is ideal for understanding the politics of the rap
game, while "Blue Black Jack" is an authentic blues
that is so woodpile-friendly that it won’t even go
over well enough for your average hole-in-the-wall.
This belongs to Shug Avery-type juke joints where you
can see the dirt under the place from some missing
floorboard. Mos wails convincingly about the exploits
of Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight boxing
champion, resurrecting, unbeknownst to Ice Cube, the
very first "nigga" whites "loved to hate." The
stomping jam is a knee slapper su’m fierce.
"Bedstuy Parade & Funeral March" is made for the
riding down the road. A winding blues in its own
right. Mos, the actor we’ve come to love, narrates as
a lovesick, traveling blues man singing about a
gangsta woman too fine to trust or forget. "Sex, Love
& Money" is a ballsy, brass band-flavored ode to what
makes the world go round. Flutes, tubas and trombones
give off one of the most ominous grooves you’ll hear
this side of seventies blaxploitation themes.
Definitely soundtrack and strip club friendly. "Close
Edge" is more closely aligned to standard hip hop,
violent and unrepentant. Since the CD goes in so many
artistic directions, it could be jarring, especially
if one’s looking for the outright positivity many look
to Mos Def for. "Grown Man Business" has the gritty
Wu-Tang, mixtape production feel. Featured rapper
Minnesota lays it solid and true about the ways of the
street game. Mos comes with it as well, even harder
than in "Close Edge." His mike sounds even dirtier, as
if he was grippin’ it at the top and rapping through
his fingers like the Lost Boys used to do.
"Modern Marvel" is a decent ode to Marvin Gaye. Gaye’s
soulful runs set a reminiscent canvas behind Mos’
questioning of where the world is headed. Ah,
consciousness! "Life is Real" has Mos sounding
suspiciously like Prodigy of Mobb Deep (without all
the exaggerated gunplay). "The Easy Spell" is on some
ol’ Lenny Kravitz/Cody Chestnutt stuff. The guitars
come back with a cheerleader-like cadenced, acid rock
feel about the fly girl on the move for Mr. Right.
The song least likely to be forgotten will be the
haunting "The Beggar." Couched safely at the back of
the CD, we find Mos unusually bold with vulnerability.
To a slow, bossa nova-type groove, Mos croons
heartfelt refrains for a woman’s understanding of his
love for her. "The Beggar" is a slow love tune that
goes beyond conventions with its Vegas strip
bar-sounding keyboard, Spanish guitar solo and a
painting-peeling scream at the end that would even
scare the hell out of Prince.
In "Life Is Real," you will hear Mos Def’s plan all
along, to "reach the world but touch the street
first." It may be easier to listen to a few of the
songs that are closely related stylistically. This may
be one of the first albums in years to hit pop,
alternative, rock and urban stations with songs so
appropriate to the respective formats that they’ll
give the impression that Mos has come out with four or
five totally different albums at the same time. The
grenade may not have hit everything in a 360 radius
flush, but everything it did has the integrity world
famous photographer Cecil Beaton espoused necessary to
force slaves of the ordinary to duck for cover.
|
|
|
