10/10/2011: Music: Rock N Roll by Mos Def
“If you heard Def’s previous outings with Black Star, you probably saw this coming. If you didn’t, it’s clearly time to put Ol’ Dirty on that shelf reserved for insane, materialist misogynists, and repent. With artists like this finally getting the respect they deserve, we could be entering a new era of hip-hop. Think about it. When was the last time you heard an MC drop a line like, “Mind over matter and soul before flesh”? When was the last time you heard somebody rap about the global economic and environmental consequences of first-world corporate waste and subsequent aquatic pollution? When was the last time you heard a hip-hopper sing competently over a phat-ass beat about the white appropriation of black art forms? Or end a song appropriately with a Bad Brains-influenced rockout, where both the drums and bass are played by the same guy?
Mos Def. The man does it all— addressing serious socio-political issues while remaining positive and affirmative from start to finish. Inspiring, no? The current state of punk and independent rock could stand to learn a thing or two from this man.” - Andrew Goldman
(Emphasis is mine)
(for the rest of the Pitchfork Review, click HERE)
Elvis Presley ain’t got no soul
Little Richard is rock and roll
You may dig on the Rolling Stones
But they ain’t come up with that shit on they own
