Black on Both Sides

by

Mos Def

Edit

The full story at 10. In this day and age of Juvenile's backing that thing up, Jay-Z saying that money aint a thang, and DMX barking for his dogs, it is comforting to know that betwixt and between all that mess of predictable, same-old same-old lyrics, there is an intelligent black man named Mos Def who can put out albums that hit you in the heart, put you on your feet and make you actually use your brain. Mos Def proves his intelligence and knowledge throughout the whole album, from the deep intro, to the thoughtful "Love", to the observant hip hop-ballad "Umi Says", and even the absurd track "New World Water", he does it all. On the latter track, he miraculously spends several minutes rapping all about the simple notion of water. Other revolutionary tracks include the John Coltrane/James Brown/Otis Redding/etc. inspired track "Rock and Roll", the hot dance recording "Know that" with fellow Black Star member Talib Kweli, the other hip-hop ballad "Climb", and the masterfully written "Mathematics" about statistics related to the discrimination of black people. Mos Def can write lyrics, spit them out, and expand on his ideas with equal ability, and has jazz and soul-influenced beats to back him up. If you are a follower, and buy whatever the crowd is buying, THIS IS NOT FOR YOU. However, if you are like me, and you love well-made, revolutionary hip hop music, do yourself, Mos Def, all "real" hiphop artists, and me a favor, and buy this classic record. I'm out.