By Thomas Johnson
In honor of the fact that THE greatest hip hop duo of all-time will (finally) be making their way down to Miami at the end of this month, it’s only fitting that we pay tribute to one of the hardest tracks on the album.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 13 years since Mos Def and Talib Kweli released their first — and to date, only — album together.
The 13-track album is absolutely crammed with gems like this one.
As long as I’m near the conversation, it will always be mentioned whenever a “Top-five albums” discussion works its way into a conversation. (Usually a result of one of my patented non-sequitors.)
Whenever the duo is discussed, it is basically mandatory to openly wonder about the possibility of a second album. Again, it’s only been 13 years.
Recently, there have been rumors that it might actually happen in 2012. I guess the film had an effect on one of them.
In August, Mos Def gave us a snippet of a track the two had been working on via his Facebook. He basically threw us a bone and we gobbled it down without chewing.
But now, considering that the two will be touring together, something that hasn’t happened in quite a while, it’s hard not to get excited at the possibility of a sophomore album actually coming to fruition.
For Kweli, wouldn’t it be the logical next step after reuniting with DJ Hi-Tek last year for a Reflection Eternal sequel that somehow lived up to the hype despite coming out 10 years after the critically-acclaimed ”Train of Thought.”
Should this happen — and a good indicator will be the number of new music they perform at their shows — it could come at the ideal point in each rapper’s respective career.
After spending a few years drifting with experimental styles, Mos Def — yes you can still call him that, for now — has been putting together an impressive string of guest appearances to go along with his 2009 album, Ecstatic. It may have been lacking publicity, but not quality music.
All we need now? An announcement from Hi-tek that he will be exclusively producing every track on Blackstar 2.o
Let’s make it happen.
- Thomas Johnson
