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Welcome to the Essential Album of the Week discussion thread!
Starting on every Wednesday we will discuss an album from our Essential Albums list. Beginning with our [classic] (http://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/1irgch/the_second_round_of_essentials_voting_is_now/) list, we'll be moving chronologically to [modern] (http://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/1imyre/the_first_round_of_essentials_voting_is_now/) times.
Last week's EAotW: [DMX - It's Dark and Hell Is Hot] (http://redd.it/2kp5ft)
Album: [Black Star] (https://i.imgur.com/u9DADUK.jpg) - [Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star] (https://i.imgur.com/v7BMJ22.png) (Rawkus, 1998)
Stream
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[YouTube] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb2N-Pr6pRo)
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[Spotify] (https://play.spotify.com/album/6GRzmk9UGL7odxprOPop1Q)
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[Grooveshark] (http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Mos+Def+and+Talib+Kweli+Are+Black+Star/176349)
Videos
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[Definition] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuJaStSL0xM)
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[Respiration (ft. Common)] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeTnog5RRQo)
Background/Description: Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star is the debut album by Brooklyn, New York rap duo Black Star, released August 18, 1998 on Rawkus Records. First meeting through their children, the two emcees had a natural chemistry and soon became like brothers. The duo first made an appearance together on the Rawkus Records “Soundbombing” album on the songs “Fortified Live” and “Freestyle”. They worked so well together that they both postponed their individual projects and decided instead to collaborate on a full-length LP.
Drawing their name from the Black Star Line, a shipping line founded by Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey, Mos and Talib speak on modern-day issues, philosophical ideas and life in Brooklyn as they know it. Throughout the album, they speak out against the racism, violence, materialism and other struggles they face in everyday life. Mos and Talib aim to empower black people with songs like “Astronomy” which interprets the word “black” in a positive way and “Brown Skin Lady” which encourages black women to be proud of how they look and to not be influenced by Western beauty standards. In the wake of the deaths of legendary Arappers 2Pac and Biggie Smalls, they claim hip hop has become too violent and that “the length of black life is treated with short wort
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Listen
Learn:
Info about Black Star:
Black Star arose from the underground movement of the late 1990s, which was in large part due to Rawkus Records, an independent record label stationed in New York City. They released one album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star on August 26, 1998. The record received critical acclaim, but only moderate commercial success. Black Star (and other members of the Native Tongues Posse) helped shape underground alternative rap, bringing it into the mainstream. Both Mos Def and Talib Kweli have gone on to greater commercial and critical success in their solo careers.
Black Star's message on their original album carried a lot of weight, from both their lyrics about social consciousness and political issues as well the strong statement in the wake of the deaths of both Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur in the late 1990s, during which an adolescent hip-hop culture suffered in the vacuum of iconic leadership provided by Smalls and Shakur. Black Star attempted to reconcile these tensions in their songs "Definition" and "Re:Definition" which share the same lyrics on their self titled album: “I said one, two, three / It’s kinda dangerous to be an emcee / They shot Tupac and Biggie / Too much violence in hip-hop, waii-ooo”
In 2001, Black Star performed "Money Jungle" with Ron Carter and John Patton for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. In 2002, the song "Hater Players" was used in an episode of The Wire, season one episode 10, The Cost. In 2005, hip hop website TheSituation.co.uk reported Kweli said that a new Black Star album was "in the pipeline". On Talib Kweli's Myspace he posted up a video saying that "We're going to find Mos Def and put it on camera that there will be a second Black Star album." In 2006, Mos and Kweli appeared together in the movie Dave Chappelle's Block Party, alongside Erykah Badu, Common, Jill Scott, Dead Prez and The Fugees, among others. They contributed a new song, "Born & Rai
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What do you think of this classic album 20 years since its release?
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What are your favorite tracks?
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What is the best verse?
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How does this album compare to the two artist’s other work?
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How influential was this album? Is its impact still felt today?
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Does it deserve to be called a classic?
- Production - Its very rare to find albums where the production is absolutely perfect. They jazzy feel, crisp 808's, timing of every instrument, everything about the album's production was perfect. 1998 was the year production began to change. Electronic synthesizers, keyboards and etc. had completely taken over the market. Puff Daddy was shaping hip hops modern sound, as well as producers like Jermain Dupri, Swiss Beats and Pharell. Then here comes Talib Kweli and Mos Def with a powerful message. Their message was, nawwwww, old school sound of boom bap can not only compete with the newer upcoming sound but sound better and more modern.
- Lyrics - Battle rap lyrics during this time were becoming more advance. The days of multi syllable talented rappers were coming to and end. People wanted more. Not only did you have to be a talented wordsmith, you also had to have crisp punchlines, similes, metaphors, double entendres, and an INCREDIBLE Mic presence, all of which this album provided. Every lyric had meaning, ever word carried power. This album was initially an underground album but it was such a strong underground album, that the mainstream had NO CHOICE but to appreciate its lyrical prowess.
- The Message - This album's message was peace. It was a conscience album. Not just any conscience album though no no no not at all. Biggie, Tupac, Big L had all died violent deaths prior to this album and the hip hop community was in PAIN. This album was needed and came out at the perfect time. See the problem with most conscience albums prior to this one is the fact that yes the message was there, the lyrics were there but unfortunately a lot of them lacked a very important feature. ENTERTAINMENT. This album was the complete opposite of boring. They were able to create a perfect balanced album compiled of consciousness, positivity, peace, gritty, hood, and entertainment all into one album which is dam near impossible to do. Hell even conscience rappers today struggle with this problem.
- The Timing - When this album came out initially it was an underground album. This album had to compete with mainstream albums like DMX - Its dark and hell is hot, Outkast - Aquemini, Big Pun's album, Lauren Hill's album, Jay- Z's album. I mean there are so many more albums but this year had a CRAZY lineup. Not only that but duo acts weren't as common as the late 80-'searly 90's. The last successful act before them was Mobb Deep. Not to many people thought that there would be a
