Name: Black On Both Sides
Brand: Mos Def
SKU: 8962
Price: 24.96 SGD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5 (2 reviews)

Black On Both Sides

Rating

Album: Black On Both Sides
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Fear Not Of Man Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:29
2)	Hip Hop Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:16
3)	Love Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:23
4)	Ms. Fat Booty Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:44
5)	Speed Law Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:16
6)	Do It Now Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:50
7)	Got Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:28
8)	UMI Says Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	5:05
9)	New World Water Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:12
10)	Rock N Roll Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	5:03
11)	Know That Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:04
12)	Climb Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:02
13)	Brooklyn Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	5:10
14)	Habitat Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:39
15)	Mr. Nigga Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	5:13
16)	Mathematics Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:06
17)	May-December Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:29

Album: Black On Both Sides
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Fear Not Of Man Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:29
2)	Hip Hop Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:16
3)	Love Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:23
4)	Ms. Fat Booty Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:44
5)	Speed Law Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:16
6)	Do It Now Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:50
7)	Got Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:28
8)	UMI Says Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	5:05
9)	New World Water Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:12
10)	Rock N Roll Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	5:03
11)	Know That Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:04
12)	Climb Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:02
13)	Brooklyn Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	5:10
14)	Habitat Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:39
15)	Mr. Nigga Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	5:13
16)	Mathematics Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	4:06
17)	May-December Album Version (Explicit)	More Info...	3:29

Performer Notes

Personnel includes: Mos Def (rap vocals, keyboards, vibraphone, bass, drums, congas, percussion); Vinia Mojica (vocals); Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip (rap vocals); Johnny Why (guitar); Weldon Irvine (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards).
Producers include: Mos Def, DJ Premier, Diamond, The Beatnuts, 88 Keys.
Recorded at Sony Music Studios, Chung King and D & D Studios, New York, New York.
Mos Def, one-half of the much loved Brooklyn duo Black Star, breaks out on his own with the most intense solo debut in hip-hop since THE MISEDUCATION OF LAUREN HILL. Like MISEDUCATION, BLACK ON BOTH SIDES stretches the definition of the genre to incorporate all aspects of music of the African Diaspora, from reggae to jazz, to form a new kind of sound. Def sings, Def raps, Def does all that and then some. The wide scope of the album is most evident by the collaborators he chooses to work with, who run the gamut from the underrated mastermind of a Tribe Called Quest, Ali Shaheed Mohammad, to the wrongly unsung hero of rare groove, keyboardist Weldon Irvine.
The message in Mos Def's music is that like in blues and jazz before it: hip-hop is not a separate "giant living in the hillside" but a reflection of who we are. In "Fear of Not Man," Mos queries his audience, "next time you ask where hip-hop is going, ask yourself where am I going?" In "Hip Hop" he warns, "hip hop will simply amaze you, praise you, pay you, do whatever you say to, but black, it can't save you."

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (11/11/99, p.137) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...manages the oxymoronic feat of being a humble MC....His often nationalistic rhymes are complimented by jazzy, mostly sample-free tracks....Who says that modesty and reverence don't have their place on hip-hop hits?"

Entertainment Weekly (11/5/99, p.83) - "...a tightrope walk across diverse hip-hop styles....Merging old-school bravado with new-school poetics, [Mos Def] spouts incisive Afrocentric reality that takes all sides into account." - Rating: A-

Q (12/02, p.120) - 4 out of 5 - "...One of the best rap albums of recent years and not a lame skit in earshot..."

Q (1/00, pp.120-22) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A throwback to the sophisticated heyday of the Native Tongues Posse, with extra poignancy and a bracing Busta Rhymes cameo to boot."

Alternative Press (2/00, pp.85-6) - 4 out of 5 - "...This is the return of the '100-percent intelligent black child'...and he's smarter and more independent than ever....Everyone who likes rap music even a little should hear what Mos has to say..."

The Wire (1/00, p.67) - Included in Wire Magazine's "50 Records Of The Year ['99]"

The Wire (1/00, p.80) - "HipHop's most eloquent spokesman takes his rightful place on the throne....A deeply personal project...one that takes in a vast range of emotions and scenarios....a complex and many layered work..."

CMJ (11/1/99, p.3) - "...simply one of the most unhindered and aesthetically ambitious hip-hop records in recent memory..."

CMJ (1/10/00, p.3) - Ranked #5 in CMJ's "Top 30 Editorial Picks [for 1999]."

The Source (11/99, pp.218-220) - 4 mics out of 5 - "...the mighty Mos Def leads the charge for change....an 80-year-old couldn't make an album this mature."

Mojo (Publisher) (10/02) - "...Among the genre's all-time greats..."