Black Star | 05.30 | New York City
By Team JamBase Jul 2, 2009 • 9:33 am PDT

Black Star :: 05.30.09 :: Nokia Theatre Times Square :: New York, NY
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Backed on the turntables by J. Rocc of Beat Junkies fame (not to be confused with J-Rocc the professional wrestler), Mos Def and Talib Kweli dug up many tracks from 1998’s self-titled Black Star, but also drew on the breadth of their solo material created since. Black Star. Tracks like “Definition/Re:DEFinition,” “Children’s Story” and “K.O.S. (Determination)” were interspersed with Mos Def ditties “Sunshine” and “The Panties” and Kweli keepers “Supreme Supreme” and “Move Something.”
Even though the pair was touching down for their reunion in Manhattan, Brooklyn was a recurring theme of the night. Mos Def cracked in the first show, “We got love for the whole city but we come out Brooklyn-swinging first and then all y’all is riding with us.” His song “Brooklyn” peppered the other songs of the set, as the duo returned to its verses several times throughout the night.
The timing of the show couldn’t have been better, as Mos Def’s new album, The Ecstatic, was set for a June 9 release. Talib put the question to Mos, “Don’t you got an album coming out?” to which Mos responded, “Cuz I’m dope.” “What’s the name of the album?” prodded Talib. “Cuz I’m dope,” replied Mos, continuing the joke, “the new single ‘Cuz I’m Dope’ from Cuz I’m Dope Records.”
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Respects paid, the two quickly returned to giving props to Brooklyn, with a couple of mentions of their borough of choice thrown into Kweli’s hit “Get By.” They spun through a quick album-like version of the song before J. Rocc rewound and reloaded to give them a crack at a remix version. “Brooklyn wins again/ It’s the Stuy/ It’s the Bush/ Ta’ Kweli, Mighty Def,” rapped Mos on the lead-in to the second go-round.
Between songs, Mos Def joked, “We out here old school, without the cordless mics.” Kweli jumped in, “Y’all know about the cordless mics? J. Rocc, play something – it’s gonna take some time to figure this shit out.” Quicker than expected, the three launched into “Umi Says,” a track off of Mos Def’s Black on Both Sides, before ending the set with Black Star‘s “Respiration.”
“New York City, we love you!” Mos Def called to the crowd as he, Talib and J. Rocc left the stage. An hour later they would be back with another set for a new set of fans lucky enough to experience what Kweli called “The Black Star Extravaganza.”
Continue reading for more pics of Black Star in New York…
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