Last night Black Star performed on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon but I fell asleep. Thank goodness for the Internet otherwise I would’ve forever missed their performance of “Little Brother” and, more importantly, Questlove sharing the song’s intriguing backstory on the show’s site. Read the rest of this entry »

If you know Talib Kweli’s music, you already know the sultry vocals of Aretha Franklin have always had a reserved spot in his music. Now that Black Star has reemerged back onto the scene, the soul brothers from another mother are paying the Queen of Soul a priceless tribute with their new project, Black Star Aretha. Read the rest of this entry »

“Don’t call it a comeback, I was home anyway.” Forget the lines at Wal-Mart, here’s something many of you have already been waiting a decade for. The new Black Star single, anyone? And, howabout we add that it’s produced by Madlib? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Read the rest of this entry »

Guess their current tour has given Mos Def and Talib Kweli, collectively known as Black Star, time to do a bit of recording as they took to The Colbert Report last night and performed a new tune titled “Fix Up.” Read the rest of this entry »

Black Star’s reunited, at least for the time being, and doing a small tour run that has them hitting House Of Blues locations around the country. During the Chicago stop, Mos Def and Talib bring out Common to perform their classic tune “Respiration.” Read the rest of this entry »

“Black, my family thick, like they’re striped molasses/Star, on the rise, in the eyes of the masses/Black is the color of my true love’s hair/Star’s are bright, shining, hot balls of air..”

Straight swiped the pic from Va$htie’s abode. No particular reason except I saw it, liked it and the only thing I could hear once I saw it (read that again) was Kweli’s lines from “Astronomy.” Read the rest of this entry »

Rocksmith teams up with Black Star to put out two collabo tees for the upcoming reunion show on 5.30 @ the Nokia Theater in NYC. Available in limited numbers on the day of the show @ the venue & online retailer Karmaloop. Hit the break for a shot of the other tee. Read the rest of this entry »

We need a September 29th, 1998.

It was the eve of what would become one of the greater days in Hip-Hop, and music history at large.

Five of the most impacting albums to ever be released that year dropped on the 29th: A Tribe Called Quest split ways on The Love Movement, as Brand Nubian reunited on Foundation, Jay-z got back on his grizzly with Hard Knock Life, while Mos Def and Kweli came together (none) for Blackstar. All the while Outkast prepared to change the world with Aquemini.

There was more than just new music being released, there was history being made by each one of these releases. Read the rest of this entry »

Previously Posted — “Re-Defining The Quotable…”

Words By Jason H.

Although audacious of me to state – late ’90s underground would not be what it was if Biggie Smalls were alive. The decadent period of Versace button downs and tales of the good life were all well and good, especially when Christopher Wallace did it so convincingly. But copy-cats however, brewed up a cloud so thick of fraud that the whole style was tainted. Although the trend continued and many fans were duped riding on champagne wishes, Biggie’s death ushered in a lane for the same talent without the aura of superstar bullshit. While B.I.G. earned his spot, imitators didn’t and when the wave of “underground” emcees came in full force, it was like the can of air that Mel Brooks inhaled in Space Balls. It was a breath of fresh air defined.

“We played against each other like puppets, swearing you got pull
when the only pull you got is the wool over your eyes
Getting knowledge in jail like a blessing in disguise”
- Talib Kweli off of “Respiration”

“The deadly ritual seems immersed, in the perverse
Full of short attention spans, short tempers, and short skirts
Long barrel automatics released in short bursts
The length of black life is treated with short worth.”
- Mos Def off of “Thieves In The Night”

Read the rest of this entry »