Mos Definately

I’ve just recently started listening to Mos Def, as I’ve also recently become familiar with the joys of downloading music. I’m in the prime of my life!
Anyway, I downloaded his new album ‘The Ecstatic’. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I’m really enjoying it. It’s full of middle-eastern music samples and it starts with him saying something in Islamic, then going into a speech by Martin Luther King. The speech is about how we live in a time of extremes and revolution, and that those in power have abused their positions and that it’s time for a change, which needs an extreme response from us. It’s interesting that even over 50 years on we are still battling the same issues, still trying to figure out how to deal the world, which seems to be changing and spiralling out of control quicker than we thought.
But really when was there a time when things didn’t change? We forget how quickly life goes by and that it’s all out of anyone’s control. Government is necessary, but when you think about it, almost futile. The government can’t stop terrorism, the west can’t fix the problems in the Middle East, and it can’t curb poverty or make people use condoms. Or stop people illegally downloading!



I got onto Wikipedia to get some juicy info on Mos Def, and I found out that he converted to Islam in 1996 when he was 19, along with his younger brothers, after being encouraged by his father who was already a Muslim. You can hear this is the songs- the samples and the references to politics and world events etc...Apparently he also thinks that Al Qaida were not responsible for 9/11. Really? Hmm. Ok.
But there is a great song with Slick Rick in it called ‘Auditorium’ which is about the war in Iraq.
Mos Def does the intelligent, politically aware hip hop with ease, without sounding righteous or extreme. This is pretty commendable, considering how fine a line that is when you’re shouting lyrics on top a beat.
The only disappointment was finding out he has two children with his ex wife, and six children with two other women. Typical.
It’s a shame that a lot really talented and a creatively superior people can’t seem to manage having a stable personal life. Those poor clever bastards. I’ll get to Tracy Morgan in the next post.

This is the end of the speech by martin Luther king, which I think is still very apt in today’s current climate –

“And I for one will join in with anyone, I don’t care what color you are, as long as you want to change this miserable condition that exists on this earth.”

I’m not sure whether ‘this miserable condition’ will change. We have come a long way, but not far enough. The miserable condition is not an abstract thing; it’s created by the human condition. Human nature never really changes. Yes, I am being cynical perhaps. Bring on the misery!
This is a song ‘History’ from the new album ‘Ecstatic’, featuring Talib Kweli and performed with the Dirty Projectors: