While spinning records on BBC Radio 1, J Rocc crossed the fader over to an exclusive glimpse into a Black Star record produced by Madlib. It's truly unbelievable that it's been 13 years since Mos Def first crept across “Definition” with a drawn out “lawwd, lawd have mercy.”
Two minutes of Mos Def zoning out over a gritty funk groove is all we get and yet, it's somehow all we need to resume being Black Star fanboys. With Rawkus long gone, Talib Kweli releasing music under his Blacksmith imprint and Mos Def presumably rogue, it's too soon to theorize if the new Black Star record even has a home yet or if it's just scattered tracks recorded here and there, with so and so.
Here's what we do know. Talib Kweli remains consistent, not losing a step in the 13 years since the debut, while Mos Def sounds rejuvenated in his hip hop roots with The Ecstatic and recent collaborations with Ski Beatz that were regrettably left of 24 Hour Karate School. Mos Def exhibited some of that flakey behavior he's known for, requesting he be taken off the Ski Beatz record, which means action must be taken before Mos abandons music again to attempt to EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony for those who don't watch 30 Rock).
Download the secret here.
