mos def Archives - FUXWITHIT

#tbt – Blackstar – Respiration ft. Common

Colin — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 03:04:57 +0000

“Escuchela…la ciudad respirando” the opening sample of Blackstar’s ‘Repiration’ translates to “Listen to it, the city breathing”. A perfect sample for a track that so perfectly captures the feeling of city life. Mos deliver the first verse giving listeners a strong visual of NYC laced with political commentary and intelligent metaphors, “The shiny Apple is bruised but sweet and if you choose to eat, you could lose your teeth, many crews retreat.” Kweli follows things up with a verse littered with quotables surrounding the perils of street life. A perfect depiction of personal struggles overlayed with the physical landscape. “Look in the skies for God, what you see besides the smog, is broken dreams flying away on the wings of the obscene.” Common closes things out taking us on a trip to Chicago that touches on everything from burying close friends, to riding the bus to feel closer to the city and finding it hard to imagine his homie having never left the city. Soak this in and take trip into the cold streets. Happy 17th anniversary to Blackstar’s Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star.

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#tbt – Mos Def & Talib Kweli – Definition

FUXWITHIT — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 00:49:19 +0000

1, 2 ,3…It’s Mos Def and Talib Kweliiiii

That’s right folks, this week on our #tbt feature we bring you Black Star – ‘Definition’.

Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star was released in August, 1998. Who knew these guys were so close back in the day (like Bethlehem and Nazareth). Both Mos Def and Talib Kweli hail from Brooklyn, NY, and the Black Star album is about life in that borough of NYC. ‘Definition’ is one of the hottest tracks off the album. Hi-Tek produced this track, amongst others on the album. Beat goes hard and gets your head banging from start to finish. ‘Definition’ is about life in Brooklyn and Mos/Kweli’s response to how hip-hop has a fascination with murder. They also show their props to their former hip-hop counterparts (Tupac and Biggie).

Favourite line: “Shining like an asterisk for all those at the gathering” – Mos Def … like an asterisk! Imagine Rihanna stumbled upon that one first…

****SHINE BRIGHT LIKE AN ASTERISK****

Anyways, cheers to the best alliance in hip-hop, Mos Def and Talib Kweli (Y-O).

– Iain (@iainganderson) – Guest Writer

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#tbt – Tracks You May Have Missed – Mos Def – Oh No

Kash — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 18:40:16 +0000

One for the treble, two for the bass. For this week’s throwback we’re bringing you a track that flew well under the radar even though it was intended to be a radio smash. This track dates back to the year 2000 before Mos Def adopted the alias and persona of Yasiin Bey. The track features the late Nate Dogg and Pharoahe Monch and comes off the Lyricist Lounge 2. The production comes from Rockwilder who back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s was one of the hottest producers out. And though it was set to perform commercially (but really didn’t, #83 of Billboard’s Top 100), Mos Def and Monch didn’t compromise at all lyrically. At the same time, the hook is provided by Nate Dogg – who (as usual) brings hard lyrics together with a melody that you can’t get out of your head. Check out the track below. Rest In Peace Nate.

[vimeo 57253985 w=500 h=316]

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