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Language available : english
In 1998, hip-hop was at a turning point. The genre was going through huge changes: 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G. had just been murdered (13th September 1996 and 9th March 1997 respectively), the East Coast/West Coast rivalry was at its height, and the hugely commercial “bling bling” rap lead by Puff Daddy was on the rise. However, some refused to succumb to this fate and set out to revive the original hip-hop along with its core values: sharp lyrics, politically engaged punchlines and productions that were centred around groovy, non-pop beats. In New York, open-mic nights such as the Lyricist Lounge brought together young MCs and DJs who walked in the footsteps of golden age rappers, from the likes of Eric B. & Rakim and A Tribe Called Quest to Slick Rick and De La Soul. Among this pool of rebellious wordsmiths, Dante Terrell Smith a.k.a. Mos Def and Talib Kweli Greene stood out from the crowd with their Black Star outfit. Their album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star was released on the indie label Rawkus on 29th September 1998. On the track Definition, Mos Def reflects on what was happening on the hip-hop scene: “I said, one, two, three. It’s kind of dangerous to be a MC. They shot 2Pac and Biggie. Too much violence in hip-hop, Y-O.” Without being minimalist or sounding cheap, the album re-discovers a certain roughness and uses a wonderful mix of samples from jazz (Cannonball Adderley, Roy Ayers, Gábor Szabó), funk and soul (Bobby Womack, Patrice Rushen, Gil Scott-Heron, Minnie Riperton) and even rap (Boogie Down Production, A Tribe Called Quest, Slick Rick). Most importantly, it never slips into the “it was better before” mind-set, instead going back to the genre’s roots to make something new out of something old. In doing so, they found a formula that has stood the test of time. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz
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Mos Def, ComposerLyricist - Talib Kweli, Producer, Co-Producer, ComposerLyricist - Hi-Tek, Producer - Black Star, MainArtist
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Weldon Irvine, FeaturedArtist - Mos Def, ComposerLyricist - Talib Kweli, ComposerLyricist - Mr. Walt, Producer - Black Star, MainArtist
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Tony Cottrell, ComposerLyricist - Dante Smith, ComposerLyricist - Talib Kweli Greene, ComposerLyricist - Hi-Tek, Producer - Black Star, MainArtist - Ken "Supa Engineer" Duro, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - SUCCESS, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Tony Cottrell, ComposerLyricist - Dante Smith, ComposerLyricist - Mos Def, Rap Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Talib Kweli, Rap Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Hi-Tek, Producer - Black Star, MainArtist
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Mos Def, ComposerLyricist - Talib Kweli, ComposerLyricist - Black Star, MainArtist - Shawn J. Period, Producer
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Dante Smith, ComposerLyricist - Talib Kweli Greene, ComposerLyricist - Black Star, MainArtist - J. Rawls, Producer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Mos Def, ComposerLyricist - Talib Kweli, ComposerLyricist - Ge-ology, Producer - Black Star, MainArtist
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Tony Cottrell, ComposerLyricist - Dante Smith, ComposerLyricist - Talib Kweli, ComposerLyricist - Vinia Mojica, FeaturedArtist, ComposerLyricist - Hi-Tek, Producer - Black Star, MainArtist
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Mos Def, ComposerLyricist - Talib Kweli, ComposerLyricist - Black Star, MainArtist - Apani Emcee, FeaturedArtist - Shawn J. Period, Producer
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Talib Kweli, Producer, Co-Producer, ComposerLyricist - Black Star, MainArtist - J. Rawls, Producer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
D. Smith, ComposerLyricist - Tony Cottrell, ComposerLyricist - Talib Kweli Greene, ComposerLyricist - Hi-Tek, Producer - Common, FeaturedArtist - Black Star, MainArtist
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Mos Def, ComposerLyricist - Talib Kweli, ComposerLyricist - Black Star, MainArtist - 88 Keys, Producer
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Wordsworth, FeaturedArtist - Mos Def, ComposerLyricist - Pat Viala, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - STEVE SOUDER, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Talib Kweli, ComposerLyricist - Hi-Tek, Producer - Jane Doe, FeaturedArtist - Black Star, MainArtist - Punchline, FeaturedArtist - Sudan, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Vaugn Sessions, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1998 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
Albumbeschreibung
In 1998, hip-hop was at a turning point. The genre was going through huge changes: 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G. had just been murdered (13th September 1996 and 9th March 1997 respectively), the East Coast/West Coast rivalry was at its height, and the hugely commercial “bling bling” rap lead by Puff Daddy was on the rise. However, some refused to succumb to this fate and set out to revive the original hip-hop along with its core values: sharp lyrics, politically engaged punchlines and productions that were centred around groovy, non-pop beats. In New York, open-mic nights such as the Lyricist Lounge brought together young MCs and DJs who walked in the footsteps of golden age rappers, from the likes of Eric B. & Rakim and A Tribe Called Quest to Slick Rick and De La Soul. Among this pool of rebellious wordsmiths, Dante Terrell Smith a.k.a. Mos Def and Talib Kweli Greene stood out from the crowd with their Black Star outfit. Their album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star was released on the indie label Rawkus on 29th September 1998. On the track Definition, Mos Def reflects on what was happening on the hip-hop scene: “I said, one, two, three. It’s kind of dangerous to be a MC. They shot 2Pac and Biggie. Too much violence in hip-hop, Y-O.” Without being minimalist or sounding cheap, the album re-discovers a certain roughness and uses a wonderful mix of samples from jazz (Cannonball Adderley, Roy Ayers, Gábor Szabó), funk and soul (Bobby Womack, Patrice Rushen, Gil Scott-Heron, Minnie Riperton) and even rap (Boogie Down Production, A Tribe Called Quest, Slick Rick). Most importantly, it never slips into the “it was better before” mind-set, instead going back to the genre’s roots to make something new out of something old. In doing so, they found a formula that has stood the test of time. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:49:58
- Main artists: Black Star
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Rawkus
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
© 2002 Rawkus Entertainment LLC ℗ 2002 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
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