Mos Def

Black on Both Sides
$13.98
i suppose if you had listened to this without hearing black star first you'd think it was awesome! instead, this is a pretty lackluster album with some dope dope songs (hip hop, ms. fat booty) and a TON of garbage. the good tracks on here definitely make it worth owning, but you'd be better off getting the black star album or early talib kweli.

Black on Both Sides
$16.98
First off, for the record, I abandoned my love of hip hop many years ago. Trading it for genres such as metal and hardcore. Over the years, I've held on to some of my hip hop favorites such as Wu-Tang, The Roots, De la soul, and Tribe Called Quest. This was mainly due to the fact that most hip hop had grown stale and pretty predictable. A couple of months ago I was in the record store decided to check out the hip hop section. There I found an album that rekindled my love and appriciation of hip hop. Mos Def is hands down one of the best MC's out there today. When I listen to this album on my daily runs, I wonder why anyone cares about talentless artists such as Lil Wayne when you have such intelligent artists like Mos Def. This is the real hip hop!!!

True Magic
$13.98
Say what you will about Mos Def, but he's going to continue to march to the beat of his own drummer. It's up to you whether or not you want to march along with him. To let you know he's all business, Dante' starts things off by attacking the title track (True Magic). Mos throws darts at the establishment on "Dollar Day" which utilizes the "Nolia Clap" beat in a way that Wacko & Skip never could. And the other joints mostly center around bombin' on babylon. For the most part, the lyrics are on point. If anything is left to question, it would be the production (which I happen to like). So whether you purchase this or not hinges on one of two things -- beats or rhymes? If you're into production before lyrics, then you may be in for a bit of a letdown. If you prefer lyrics before production, you're going to love it.

There are a few drawbacks here and there. What I think throws most folks for a loop is Mos' propensity for going on random tangents. True, he can go off course and ramble for long periods of time, but he stays within the theme of the song.....if that kind of thing matters to you at all. Also, like someone mentioned before, Mos has his moments where he's flowin' in this sing-songy drawl that is at times indecipherable. None of the songs are wack though. Just a few joints worthy of being labeled "skip material" (A Ha) or have sleep inducing production (Murder Of A Teenage Life) and I think that's what baffles most Mos Def fans -- because out the gate he never dropped anything that would garner less than 5 stars.

True Magic may not be the landmark release most were expecting, but it's definitely tight. Then again, when was the last time he dropped an album that we expected from him? That's why we keep listening no matter how many curveballs he throws at us. I recommend checking this out for that very reason.

Standout Tracks: Thug Is A Drug, Napoleon Dynamite, Tru3 Magic, There Is A Way, Perfect Timing, Dollar Day, Sun Moon Stars, Fake Bonanza (My Favorite), and Crime & Medicine

Audio 3
$12.98
At one point in time Mos Def was hailed as one of Hip-Hop's next great artists. Throughout the years, however, his career has taken shifts and turns that have seen him move on to ventures in singing and acting. Audio 3 takes a look back at why Mos was once so heralded as an MC. There's significantly more rapping than singing on this album and numerous Mos Def classics are included, most notably Ms. Fat Booty, The Body Rock, 2 Words and Seven Days. Although his influence may not be what it once was, the talent that brought him to the top can't be denied.