Ever since his guest spots with Da Bush Babees in 1996, Mos Def has always been a lyrical force to reckon with. He has been deemed the idealistic emcee and many even claim him to be one of, if not the greatest to ever touch the microphone. Despite his below average and very rushed albums: The New Danger and Tru3 Magic the Mighty Mos Def has dropped two undisputed classics. The first being alongside Talib Kweli to form Black Star, a collaborative effort that had the two artist sharing the spotlight to drop one of the most insightful albums on politics, Brooklyn, women, and pro-blackness. Of course, Talib went on to do Reflection Eternal with DJ Hi Tek, but Mos Def went on to create without a doubt, one of the best albums in the last 15 years.
Many claim Black on Both Sides to be this generation’s Illmatic and while this statement is bold, it certainly has merit. Mos Def has all the skills an emcee needs to have and uses them to perfection. This album exemplifies his writing, his flow, his schemes, his concepts, his topics, his ear for beats, and his intellect. It should also be noted that the multi-talented Def also played many of the instruments featured on tracks and co-produced a handful. The album has little to no flaws, a variety of producers, and multiple relevant topics that Mos Def can eat for breakfast.
There are two guest spots on the album; Busta Rhymes on “Do It Now” and Talib on “Know That.” The former is a high energy track that has Rhymes Galore going full throttle and rubs off on Mos Def who matches Busta’s energy (yeah, I know eh?). It really does push the listener to act fast. The Black Star reunion is possibly one of the best tracks on the album because of the beautiful Dionne Warwick sample (courtesy of Ayatollah) and the back and forth between two dope emcees. The chemistry is perfect and manages to be mellow while staying vigorous, dark, and enlightening all at once. “Love” is a beautiful rendition of Mos’ feelings to the apple of his eye; hip hop. From the apple of the eye to apple bottoms, “Ms. Fat Booty” is a unique twist on the boy meets girl with big butt story because of how Mos unfolds the scenario. The beat and hook are perfectly molded in to the scene by Ayatollah.
“Hip Hop” is another candidate for top track honours because the track literally is hip hop in its purist form. It is three minutes of unbelievable emceeing with a great beat provided by the legendary Diamond D. The Native Tongue crew lends a helping hand with the Ali Shaheed produced “Got” which has Mos warns about bringing attention to oneself because, well, you’ll get ‘got’. Furthermore, the Q-Tip assisted “Mr. Nigga” is an updated version of the Tribe Called Quest classic “Sucka Nigga” with many clever inserts from all angles regarding a black man’s place and status in society.
As the avid DJ Premier fan I am, you knew this was coming: “Mathematics”
Yo, it’s one universal law but two sides to every story
Three strikes and you be in for life, manditory
Four MC’s murdered in the last four years
I ain’t tryin to be the fifth one, the millenium is here
Yo it’s 6 Million Ways to Die, from the seven deadly thrills
Eight-year olds gettin found with 9 mill’s
It’s 10 P.M., where your seeds at? What’s the deal
He on the hill puffin krill to keep they belly filled
Light in the ass with heavy steel, sights on the pretty shit in life
Young soldiers tryin to earn they next stripe
When the average minimum wage is $5.15
You best believe you gotta find a new ground to get cream
The white unemployment rate, is nearly more than triple for black
so frontliners got they gun in your back
No words can justify what leaks out of this song. I mentioned intelligence, flow, concept, delivery; all these elements of emceeing are at their prime on this track. The beat is so unique; the track is mind-boggling and perfect. This will essentially be one of the greatest hip hop songs you will ever hear.
In closing, to compare this album to Illmatic would be unfair. And while I think this album is near perfect at times, I still do think it has flaws, something that I don’t think Illmatic had. Production at times proved to be a little cheesy, for lack of a better word. “Habitat,” and “Rock’n'Roll” in particular attribute to that point. Also, “Fear Not of Man” aches to be rapped on, but it is more or less a tease. A song like “Climb” might zone you out, but Mos Def isn’t shy about sharing his singing voice. Nevertheless, Mos is like that really cool professor you had in college or university because he is so knowledgeable, so down to earth, so for the people, and so accurate. Hearing all of his lessons on this disc really is the best lecture in Hop Hop 101 you might have for years to come.
Overall Score: 91/100
Standout Tracks:
“Mathematics”
“Know That”
“Hip Hop”
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18 Comments
this is my favorite album, you should post the samples from this album man!
word. this really is a stone classic. i come back to it time and again. lately, i’ve been reaching for it every few days. glad you picked out the dionne warwick sample, it kills me every time!
yo g.d.p.. samples for da mos def album is posted at hiphopisread
I actually bought this album because they took Shyheim “Manchild” off the shelves a day after it was released.It turned out being one of my favorite albums. This is one of the most varied and well put together albums of all time. It goes every where but is still seamless. A Hip-Hop milestone.
*does anybody know where I can get the Shyheim Manchild album?*
this is one of the albums that truly got me into hip-hop. in a day where hip-hop newbies are thrown into the waynes, 50s, and trash of this era, its a shame that albums of this character and quality aren’t as well known.
Good review!! You just needed yo add 9 more pts. and your review would be perfect. This is a PERFECT album!! And the 2 or 3 tracks you dislike are tracks that appeal to his alternative fans!!
Thanks for reading guys..
1. Benny, that Warwick sample really is a thing of beauty, used very well too
2. J Brookinz, I have the Shyheim on cassette, would have no idea how to even upload that lol
3. Brooklyn. To say an album is “Perfect” is a bold statement. As i said, there is no room for error if something is perfect. Illmatic is that cornerstone for me. The songs that I mentioned may appeal to different fans, but they obviously don’t appeal to everyone, while Illmatic is seemingly universal. Moreover, The lack of rapping on Fear Not of Man killllled me
Black on Both Sides is a CLASSIC! Only Mos could do a track like “New World Water”
“You can laugh and take it as a joke if you wanna
But it don’t rain for four weeks some summers
And it’s about to get real wild in the half
You be buying Evian just to take a fuckin bath”
How true it is!
Americans wastin it on some leisure shit (Say word?)
And other nations be desperately seekin it (Let em know)
Such a damn shame!
Great review Deez!!
Another good review. Near perfect. I could do without him singing, but that minor. Was in college when this came out and stayed in rotation for a good six months. Still sounds fresh today. Sean I agree Mathematics is up there with “great” hip hop songs. Another home run.
Big ups Thomas… Math has got to be one of the best songs ever.. I heard he doesn’t perform it live though :o(
What’s wrong wit Habitat? The way he flipped that B.I.G. “Who Shot Ya?” beat is classic
This is the greatest album of all time.
Every time I listen to the songs on this album I discover a new reference, metaphor, etc. This album is one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time! It’s definitely on the Illmatic level!
This album is amazing one of my favorites of all-time. This album is timeless in my eyes and Mathmatics is just to dope beyond words. “If you push to hard, even numbers have limits. Why did one straw break the camel’s back heres the secret cause theres a million other straws underneath it” Brillant!!! I also enjoy the tracks that Mos sings on as well. Umi Says and Habitat are both joy to my ears, nah the whole album is a joy to my to my soul. Corny but true lol
Deez you are the man. I would love to see you give a review for one Pac’s classic albums but you probably aren’t a fan of his. Well no one is perfect
where i download song “hip hop”
im drunk
and fuck
eevne if im drunk i will tell you to fucking buy this alvum. Don’t burn this shit. fucking buy it
Classic Deez….classic!
This album…what to say about this album…