Don't know how I missed this gem when it surfaced in March ("Sunshine Screwface").

I heard the mp3 first and was blown away. Researched the track a bit more, only to find out the track was lifted from a segment of a live radio recording.

I mean..How do you listen to his and not get hyped!??! I had forgotten how truly dope and talented Mos is as an MC and a showman.

The off the cuff chatting session at the intro and flawless execution of rhymes and cadence.

Give this man his due.. One of the greats for sure...

Peep the link...

http://vimeo.com/38084710

That Oh No prod. track 'Forever Alive' is crazy - he killed that entire radio spot. Madlib said they have two albums in the works as well, hope they see the light of day soon.

Dude canceled Detroit shows twice. SMH

When he wants to be...he is as good as anyone to ever do it.

>When he wants to be...he is as good as anyone to ever do it.

There aren't many MCs that at time amaze me but he is one of them.

Coming from the stand point of someone who has been writing and rhyming for years, there are some MCs that I hear and just say "damn, that dude is incredible" and then there are others that I just acknowledge that they're nice.

For example, Redman is a great MC and one of the best to do it but he has never made me stop and say "what the fuck yo".

Nas, Thought, 3000, Mos, and AZ are in that category for me. Those are my 5 favorite MCs to listen to for pure lyrics and delivery.

I was a big fan in the 90's with all the Rawkus stuff. The Black Star album was good, then his debut album came that was dope I really thought he was gonna have a run. But he released albums no one cared about. Sure New Danger and Tru Magic had bright spots but on the real they were let downs. His last album was a step in the right direction, honestly the 90's will end up being where Mos peaked.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

.

He was definitely about putting out some dope hip-hop joints but after his first solo album, he wanted to put out a rock album for his second album which Rawkus wasn't going to let him do and rightfully so cause that's not what his fans wanted.

I respect his decision to be an artist who don't want to be put into a box but honestly nobody but maybe 10% of his fans would've latched onto that but he would've lost the other 90% and gained a new audience of listeners who didn't care for his previous works and that's not how it works in the industry...most of the time; if you notice a year after he released "Black On Both Sides" his catalog got real spotty in terms of quality songs.

Yeah some of those songs did go on the "New Danger" album but to me that album was a big disappointment; but I have to say Mos Def has tons of skills and swag lyrically but he's not too good at releasing what his fans really expect from him and timing on doing so.

And made good money + gotten a fair amount of critical
acclaim as an actor?

What about that option?

LOL @ hipsters

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

>
>And made good money + gotten a fair amount of critical
>acclaim as an actor?
>
>What about that option?
>
>LOL @ hipsters
>
>----------------------------

All that's cool but it doesn't address the fact that as fans of his music, many were disappointed with the choice to go in an entirely different direction. I can't even say I didn't like The New Danger, but I was hyped to hear it, & when I did it wasn't what I wanted to hear.

None of that you said up there has anything to do with how we, the fans responded to it.

Mos has been successful on his own terms for years, & the Ecstatic was great, nearly a return to form, but that doesn't mean I don't miss Re:Definition, Thieves in the Night, Mr. Nigga Mos. That shit was great, in my opinion classic. His later work hasn't measured up to my expectations...

That's the definition of disappointment.

>
>That's the definition of disappointment.

Or shitty, immature expectations.

It'd be one thing if Mos told us one thing and
delivered another.

That's the difference between him and artists like
Jay Electronica.

He just made music when he felt like it. He did movies
when he felt like it. He's doing fine.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

>
>>
>>That's the definition of disappointment.
>
>Or shitty, immature expectations.
>
>It'd be one thing if Mos told us one thing and
>delivered another.
>
>That's the difference between him and artists like
>Jay Electronica.
>
>He just made music when he felt like it. He did movies
>when he felt like it. He's doing fine.
>
>----------------------------

Irrelevant Straw Man. He's been successful, I concede that. He hasn't however, lived up to the ridiculously high bar he set for himself.

The expectations were based on prior experience, & previous work. Mos had dabbled in rock music before, but he had made more rap music, over the course of years. How is it immature to expect more work in the same vein. Dude is an incredible MC, he's mediocre as a rock musician, it dragged the product down. New Danger wasn't as good as BOBS, I find that disappointing...

>>
>>>
>>>That's the definition of disappointment.
>>
>>Or shitty, immature expectations.
>>
>>It'd be one thing if Mos told us one thing and
>>delivered another.
>>
>>That's the difference between him and artists like
>>Jay Electronica.
>>
>>He just made music when he felt like it. He did movies
>>when he felt like it. He's doing fine.
>>
>>----------------------------
>
>Irrelevant Straw Man. He's been successful, I concede that. He
>hasn't however, lived up to the ridiculously high bar he set
>for himself.
>
>The expectations were based on prior experience, & previous
>work. Mos had dabbled in rock music before, but he had made
>more rap music, over the course of years. How is it immature
>to expect more work in the same vein. Dude is an incredible
>MC, he's mediocre as a rock musician, it dragged the product
>down. New Danger wasn't as good as BOBS, I find that
>disappointing...

oh dear god. *smh*

written off as not getting with the times.

Literally can't win.

Ecstatic is a masterpiece, but around here he is a bum.

This place is insane.

Look at The Roots discography, them dudes always changing it up. They still on a run of good albums. Seems to me like they have that drive release something of quality each go round. You can say the same thing with Common & Kweli. Mos been around over ten years, kid has four albums two of them are lackluster. I remember Mos saying he's the catalog... Not really.

>Look at The Roots discography, them dudes always changing it
>up. They still on a run of good albums. Seems to me like they
>have that drive release something of quality each go round.
>You can say the same thing with Common & Kweli. Mos been
>around over ten years, kid has four albums two of them are
>lackluster. I remember Mos saying he's the catalog... Not
>really.

The Lesson would hate on Mos if he was coming out with
consistent BOBS product

To be honest, the smartest thing he did was not come out
with a lot

Look at how the Lesson shits on every one of his harmless
freestyles...he's just having fun, spitting...the Lesson
comes down HARD on them, and then turns around and praises
French Montana for being terrible

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

and they were all as good or almost as good as BOBS I'd be the happiest man in the world probably. Ecstatic was dope but its not fucking with BOBS imo

"I respect his decision to be an artist who don't want to be put into a box"

He respects his decision, but he doesn't like the work. He has that right.

I see how you might think that but he is still one of the greats to me

more material would be nice though

I agree with him not meeting his potential but why no mention of The Ecstatic? That was one of the bright spots in his discography

If he wanted to rap more, he'd rap more.

i feel like he's always kept it as close to 100 as pretty much any other MC out there

and most if not all of our other rap heroes would not want to go up against him in any kind of battle but unfortunately it seems like theyre also maybe afraid to reach out & try to collab w/ him, even tho he could bring life to a lot of these cats' dead shit

i mean shit, his hook on "bin laden" had more feeling &, use of tge term still be damned, SWAG than most cats' whole verses

crazy shit tho...Mos can make classic songs w/o even really barely rhyming

this shit used to give me chills when i listened to it (was going to post a YT of Lifetime, cant find it)

I've always respected Mos as a musician. Black On Both Sides is one of my favorite albums of all time, and so is Black Star. The Ecstatic is also incredible, and ages extremely well. But I think The New Danger and True Magic are blemishes in his catalog. I liked New Danger when I copped it, but aside from a few joints, I don't really enjoy it that much. And if I'm not mistaken, I heard Mos all but admit that True Magic was a contractual obligation record, and you can hear when Mos' heart really isn't in something, because his heart is one of his primary assets in his music.

So I'd think he has two classic records, two 3-3.5-star records, and his most recent is a four-star record (I gave it 3.5 in my review, but I know that was a mistake. That's a long story though)

I'm still a huge fan of Mos. He has everything: the lyrics, the charisma, the flow, the energy, the mic presence, the ability to deliver a concept, the ability to tell a story, the ability to give his own experiences while also sharing experiences of others.

But that free spirit is both a gift and a curse. I think the free spirit energizes him a lot, and that gives his music something that can't really be substituted. But at the same time, I think the approach makes him produce much slower, and makes him take gambles that don't always work. Either way, I'll always be checking for him. Can't wait to hear that record with Mannie Fresh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E26mjWp9fPM

(one of my favs)

i was so hyped when I first heard it
shit bangs