producer: mos def, diamond d, 88 keys, ayatollah, mr. khaliyl, the ummah, david kennedy, psycho les for the beatnuts, etch-a-sketch, ge-ology, d-prosper, dj premier

guests: busta rhymes, talib kweli, q-tip, vinia mojica

Building on his spiritual "Traveling Man" off DJ Honda’s "HII" album, and leaving behind the bouncy b-boyism of "The Body Rock" or "Universal Magnetic", Mos Def has now released his long awaited solo album. And the title of it, "Black On Both Sides" does give away much of his agenda. But to fully comprehend and discover what there is to the man, born Dante Smith, one has to really sit down and listen to him bless the world with his song.

Speaking his gospel on "Fear Not Of Man", Mos talks about "21st century is comin’ / 20th century almost done / a lot of things have changed / a lot of things have not" and he continues with an essential break down of the problems with hip hop "you know what's gonna happen with hip hop? Whatever's happening with us. If we smoked out, Hip-Hop is gonna be smoked out, if we doin alright, hip hop is gonna be doin alright. People talk about Hip-Hop, like it's some giant living in the hillside, coming down to visit the townspeople. We ARE Hip-Hop. Me, you, everybody. We are hip hop, so hip hop is going where we going. So the next time you ask yourself where Hip-Hop is going, ask yourself: ‘where am I going? How am I doin?’, till you get a clear idea. So if hip hop is about the people and the hip hop won't get better until the people get better, then how do people get better? Well, from my understanding, people get better when they start to understand, that they are valuable".

This long quote shows Mos’ background in spoken word, and even though he only does that thing now and then, you can still find the thought, the process, the patters, the pride, the intelligence, the consciousness in the rhymes he kicks too.

Another spoken word gem is "Rock N Roll" where he first starts more than spiritual with "My grandmomma was raised on a reservation. My great-grandmomma was, from a plantation. They sang songs for inspiration. They sang songs for relaxation. They sang songs, to take their minds up off that fucked up situation. I am, yes I am, the descendant of those folks whose, backs got broke. Who, fell down inside the gunsmoke". The track then switches to a proud announcement and remembrance that rock was started by Black people. And Mos Def says: "I ain't trying to diss / but I don't be trying to fuck with Limp Bizkit", before the track crumbles into a crossover guitar onslaught.

And even when he’s rocking rhymes, he still keeps it thoughtful and conscious. Like on "Mathematics", where he drops jewels like "young bloods can't spell but they could rock you in PlayStation / this new math is whipping motherfuckers ass / you wanna know how to rhyme you better learn how to add / it's mathematics", or "yo, it's one universal law but two sides to every story / three strikes and you be in for life, mandatory / four MC's murdered in the last four years / I ain't trying to be the fifth one, the millennium is here / yo it's 6 Million Ways to die, from the seven deadly thrills / eight heroes getting found with 9 mill's / it's 10 P.M., where your seeds at? What's the deal".

With too many more lines to quote, it’s necessary that you listen to the album yourself. And it only leaves little space to talk about the beats. The biggest surprise has to be "May-December" an instrumental cut, that ends the album nicely, with enlightened pianos and a strong melodic vibe. Mos Def’s musical talent, that goes beyond vocal contributions, allows him to put down bass, vibraphone, percussions, etc. to give the album an organic feel that is nevertheless very much boom bap hip hop. That’s why it’s no surprise that he produced some tracks himself, while also putting down his lyrics to some beats by Diamond D, 88 Keys, Psycho Les, Ge-Ology, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, DJ Premier and Mr Khaliyl, only naming a few. And this big number of different producers still made an album that sounds like completely thought out, not just some thrown together tracks (also due to that Mos did not put all his old tracks on it). Well, and with adding other contributions by Will I Am (Black Eyed Peas), Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli and Vinia Mojica, and you got the hip hop equivalent to Lauryns last album.

Black and proud. Thorough.