New Mos Def Song: World Premier

No, this blog post isn't a world premier. That's actually the name of the song, and rumor has it that it could end up being the lead single for the album that Mos Def is alleged to currently be working on.

Keen ears will recognize the song's beat as a track released last year as part of Madlib's Beat Konducta series of instrumental albums (and also a key component to the success of Mos Def's most recent album, which was mostly comprised of other Beat Konducta releases.

The song is classic Mos and everything we've come to love and expect from him -- a perfect mixture of rapping, harmonizing and singing over unmistakable Hiphop beats.

On a side note, as if last month's performance with Lupe and Kanye wasn't enough proof, it is quite clear that Mos cannot stifle his love for Hiphop, which repeatedly results in his return to the booth despite other, more lucrative, profitable endeavors that he could [and probably will later] be taking advantage of.

For this fact we should all rejoice and be thankful to one of the few remaining providers of unadulterated true school Hiphop music.

Bilingual Rap Quietly Makes Its Return

It's been a long while since Hiphop has been treated to a quality song that featured an artist rhyming in something other than their native language.

Two songs immediately come to mind when weighing the contenders for best bilingual rap songs of all time performed by non-bilingual rappers.

The summer of 1991 was responsible for tons of hits that are now classics, but the Hiphop nation stood at attention when Nice & Smooth flipped their already hot single Hip-Hop Junkies for its Spanish Fly remix, paying tribute to their Spanish-speaking fans as well as their Bronx brethren:



Nine long years later to a much less publicized degree, Mos Def and De La Soul were featured on the bilingual jewel What's That (?Que Eso?) from Tony Touch's The Piece Maker album.

De La was great, and of course Tony Toca excelled, but Mos Def stole the show by closing his impressive and memorable verse with the following line (ironically delivered in English): "Understand that when I shine all your light is through, y'all n*ggas wack in one language, son, I'm nice in two."

But now these two songs get some quality [and surprising] company from Compton rapper Game, who is featured on French rapper La Fouine's song Caillra For Life.

Game has generally improved as a rapper since his debut, but his verse on this song shatters all preconceptions we may have had of his rhyming prowess by flowing effortlessly in both French and English. (Editor's note: criteria for this list does not include subject matter...)

Not only does it show that Game is willing to step outside of his comfort zone (for which he should be commended), it also displays a growth that was never expected from a rapper of his ilk (when is the last time a gangsta rapper emceed in another language?).

This brief but substantial list leaves out Cypress Hill, The Beatnuts and other pioneering Latino rappers and rap groups who have always infused their native language into their mostly English rhymes, and their contributions shouldn't be ignored. But rare is it when a rapper goes out of his element to showcase his rhyming ability in another language.

Honorable Mention: GURU featured French rapper MC Solaar on Jazzmatazz, but GURU himself never rapped in another language, making him ineligible to appear this list.

I'm sure there are other notable bilingual songs from non-bilingual rappers. Who am I missing?

NEW MOS DEF!

Just when I was beginning accept the fact that no real, quality Hiphop music would surface in the month of August, here comes an new and unexpected Mos Def song to save us all from a sub par past 30 days.

His new song, called "The Glow," is a chill yet slightly uptempo boom bap banger, complemented with shrill strings and plus piano, and it rocks!

Why can't we have more Hiphop music that sounds like this?

It's just one long verse, but the beat is so inspiring and and Mos sounds so good, so natural on the track.

Scared of what?

Me and Mines ain't scared of much.

We get it down, push high

Keep the standards up.

Hand-to-hand on the mic,

Call it pass the dutch.

Ghetto people

Put your eras, hands and cameras up.

Flash Gordon:

Code name for my dogs that's passed forward.

I make you put the disc on play and repeat

I got the crowd sweating like a pig waving the heat.

And I stay on beat,

And I stay on grind.

From the black spades here

To the project hallways,

Black Star team Kweli Green and Dante.

Code name: All Day

Operation: All Good.

Balance throughout all times

Current status: All Grind.

Clearer than a chalk line

Traced around a cold body.

First text with no copy,

I don't rhyme like nobody.

Rockin' for the dope bodies

Waking up in nowhere.

Trying to get some place

Forward motion unsafe.

This is for the warrior,

This is for the renegade,

This is for the battle cry,

Early morning serenade.

This is for the ghetto block

Where darkness don't never fade.

Where police on the grind

To make the masses separate.

Depression and circumstance

Will make a family separate.

Black beauty in the dance,

Come together, separate.

Hopefully the release of this song is an indication that he has a new album on the way after the debacle with his last album, which was actually very good.

Here is Mos Def at his best, rhyming in the hallway with Kanye. Kanye's rhymes are nice but he keeps on stuttering while Mos's rhymes are just as smooth and fluid as can be.





And here is Mos rhyming in Vegas earlier this month.

Who Used the Sample Best?

It happens all the time in Hiphop, but lately there has been a noticeable spate of rap songs using the same sample with barely a distinction between the beats created.

The sampled song in question is Derrick Harriott's "Message From a Black Man," and in the past four years, it has been flipped by King Geedorah aka MF Doom, Mos Def, RZA, NaS, and now, surprisingly, Young Buck.

But the question is who used it best?

I'm not necessarily talking about lyrics or the song as a whole package, but the beat -- whose beat knocks the hardest?

The versions by Mos, RZA and Buck are all very similar. Perhaps even the same.

But the version done by NaS has a cool little bridge in the middle, giving the track a little more flavor then the others.

But it's Doom's beat, produced by his beat-making alter ego, Metal Fingers, that prevails sonically. The drums are a little harder than the others', and Doom chops up the beat, and sounds like he's having fun playing around with the beat machine, complete with cutting and scratching throughout.

And although I said it's not about the lyrics, Doom's version features two hot verses by Mr. Fantastik, which only enhances the song as a whole.

Here are the songs in the order in which they were released:

King Geedorah: Anti-Matter Feat. Mr. Fantastik, from 2004's Take Me To Your Leader

Mos Def: Undeniable -- From 2006's Tru3 Magic

RZA as Bobby Digital: You Can't Stop Me Now Feat. Inspectah Deck, from 2008's Digi Snacks

NaS: You Can't Stop Us Now Feat. Eban Thomas, from 2008's Untitled

Young Buck: Soundscan, random song released this week

Which is the best?

Crooklyn Dodgers Reunion in BK on Saturday

Celebrate Brooklyn and the Lyricist Lounge are presenting a 90 underground Hiphop extravaganza on Saturday in Prospect Park.

Hosted by two of the original members of the Crooklyn Dodgers, Buckshot and Special Ed, the concert will feature other Crooklyn Dodgers alumni Masta Ace, O.C., Chubb Rock and Jeru the Damaja.

Also on the bill is Masta Ace's new group eMC, a four man crew made up of Ace, Wordsworth, Punchline, and Ace protege/Milwaukee emcee Stricklin. They just a few months ago released "The Show," a very good conceptual album about a Hiphop group on a low-budget tour.

Jungle Rock Junior, the reggae-influenced artist formerly known as Chip-Fu, from the 90s group Fu-Schnickens, completes the show's roster.

And it's all $free.99.

No word on if the Crooklyn Dodgers 3 team will make an appearance, but it couldn't hurt! Jean Grae better be in attendance, at least, retirement be damned! I will give Memphis Bleek a pass for being absent if he promises to stay home and practice writing rhymes, something he obviously hasn't done much of since the summer of '96. I'm pretty sure Mos will be too busy to even know about the event but that would be a good look if he showed up. Especially seeing that it is Brooklyn, the place he pays homage to in every one of his rhymes. Mos might be overseas filming a movie, getting his money, though, so I couldn't blame him for that. We need some new music from him soon! But I digress...

I confess to never loving the first Crooklyn Dodgers effort, but the song was everywhere that summer. It''s still debatable if Q-Tip produced it or J. Dilla.

I think it's pretty curious that none of the three Brooklyn anthems were produced by Brooklyn beat makers.

Here are videos for all three installments of the Crooklyn Dodgers, in the order they were released: