Mos Def

Black Star’s Yasiin Bey & Talib Kweli Become The Faces Of AMIRI In High-Fashion Campaign

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Black Star Yasiin Bey, Talib Kweli

Luxury fashion brand AMIRI recently announced the new faces of their new campaign. Their selection includes iconic hip-hop duo Black Star, consisting of Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) and Talib Kweli, as their brand ambassadors for the upcoming Fall/Winter 2023 campaign.  AMIRI Autumn-Winter 2023 The California-based brand made the exciting revelation on August […]

The post Black Star’s Yasiin Bey & Talib Kweli Become The Faces Of AMIRI In High-Fashion Campaign appeared first on SOHH.com.

Erykah Badu Working On Collab Album With Madlib And Embarking On U.S. Tour With Yasiin Bey

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Erykah Badu and Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) have announced that they’re embarking on a 25-city tour of the United States. Producer Madlib recently revealed that he has an upcoming project in the works with the neo-soul queen—Erykah Badu. The talented and highly sought after composer appeared on Sway in the Morning with Talib Kweli to promote their new album Liberation 2. During the conversation, Madlib said he recently began work on a full-length effort with Ms. Badu.

He added: “[Erykah and I] just started on an album … We have a lot of unreleased stuff.” teased an upcoming project with Badu

Badu’s tour—the Unfollow Me tour begins on June 11 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX. It will conclude on July 23 at the American Airlines Center in San Antonio, TX.

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Pre-sales begin on April 20 through Ticketmaster.

Check out the Unfollow Me tour dates below:
June
11 – AT&T Center – San Antonio, TC
13 – Desert Diamond Arena – Glendale, AZ
20 – Golden 1 Center – Sacramento, CA
21 – Oakland Arena – Oakland, CA
23 – WaMu Theater – Seattle, WA
26 – Ball Arena – Denver, CO
28 – Enterprise Center – St. Louis, MO
30 – Xcel Center – St. Paul, MN

July
1 – United Center – Chicago, IL
2 – Little Caesar’s Arena – Detroit, MI
7 – TD Arena – Boston, MA
8 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
9 – TD Pavillion at the Mann – Philadelphia, PA
11 – Prudential Center – Newark, NJ
13 – Capital One Arena – Washington, DC
15 – State Farm Arena – Atlanta, GA
16 – Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC
18 – Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
19 – Legacy Area at the BJCC – Birmingham, AL
21 – Fedex Forum – Memphis, TN
23 – American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX

The post Erykah Badu Working On Collab Album With Madlib And Embarking On U.S. Tour With Yasiin Bey appeared first on The Source.

6LACK Covers Mos Def’s ‘Umi Says’ As Part Of Apple Music’s 2022 Freedom Songs

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6lack holds nothing back in his music or real life, especially when speaking on the plight of Black people in this country. For Apple Music’s Freedom Songs 2022 celebrating Juneteenth through covers and original music, the East Atlanta Love Letter artist covered Mos Def’s powerful 1999 record “Umi Says.” The low tempo beat loaded with instruments is right in 6lack’s pocket as he used his signature croak to speak about what he wants to see for his people. Though the fight extends well beyond music, he deems it important to use his platform for causes such as these.

Though 6lack has maintained his presence through a number of features over the years, listeners haven’t received a project since 2020’s 6 Pc Hot, let alone a full album since 2018’s East Atlanta Love Letter. The 29-year-old has been alluding to the third chapter of his career for quite some time, and gave fans a taste back in December with the 1-2 punch of “Rent Free” and “By Any Means.” His management team Love Renaissance always has a master plan prepared, and the addition of OVO’s dvsn just makes their next move with 6lack all the more intriguing. Until then, he will surely provide more to hold listeners over.

Listen to 6lack’s Apple Music exclusive “Umi Says ” above.

Black Star (Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli) Set to Release New Album, ‘No Fear of Time’ Exclusively on Podcast Platform

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No Fear of Time Black Star Talib Kweli Mos Def Yasiin Bey Album

After 24 years since the release of their debut album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and Talib Kweli, the hip-hop duo known as Black Star, are finally set to release their highly anticipated second album, No Fear of Time. The album will be available exclusively on the podcasting platform Luminary.

Set to be released on May 3, the album comprises nine tracks, all of which were recorded “guerrilla style in hotel rooms and dressing rooms around the globe.” No Fear of Time is said to hone a “future vibe with vintage soul,” ultimately living up to its highly anticipated coming from the iconic Brooklyn rap pair.

Luminary is also home to the duo’s podcast with Dave Chappelle, The Midnight Miracle. According to the platform, the first episode of season two titled, “Bugs Bunny Mathematicx,” “serves as audio liner notes to introduce the album.” The following episode, “Mineral Mountain,” features a Black Star freestyle with Black Thought produced by Madlib.

No Fear of Time will be the first of its kind—a hip-hop album released and confined to a digital platform for access, in this case, a podcasting platform. The album will not be available on popular streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. It will solely be available on the podcasting platform, Luminary.

Since their debut album, the duo has managed to continue creating their refined hip-hop sound throughout the victorious solo projects of both Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and Talib Kweli, ultimately producing era defining hip-hop works.

At the time using the moniker Mos Def, in 1998 Yasiin Bey released his solo debut Black on Both Sides under Rawkus records. Bey’s musicianship is a full display with tracks such as “UMI Says,” “Mathematics,” and “Ms. Fat Booty.” The cosmic individuality showcased by Bey highlights his melodic fluctuation between rapping and singing, set the tone for the new millennium’s hip-hop sound. The album peaked at number one on the US Billboard Top Rap Albums chart in 1999.

In 2002, Talib Kweli released his debut album Quality, where the Brooklyn native displays a refined level of their boom-bap tendencies with a flair of rich instrumentation. The Kanye West produced single, “Get By,” hit the Billboard Hot 100 at number 77, ultimately making the album a commercial success. Quality peaked at number 6 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Prior to Quality, Talib Kweli teamed up with producer Hi-Tek to form Reflection Eternal and released Train of Thought, which features one of Kweli’s referenced tracks, “The Blast/Down For The Count.”

“Our fans always ask about the possibility of a second Black Star album,” Talib Kweli shares on The Midnight Miracle. “To that end, we’ve had many false starts. But we also realize that great music happens organically and we’ve never wanted to force it. Black Star was and is a vibe.”

The post Black Star (Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli) Set to Release New Album, ‘No Fear of Time’ Exclusively on Podcast Platform appeared first on The Source.

Yasiin Bey And Talib Kweli Announce Their Long-Awaited Black Star Reunion Release Date

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It was well over two decades ago that Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (then known as Mos Def) declared, “Black Star keep shinin’.” However, in the intervening years, it seemed that Black Star had long since burned out. The two respected rappers would offer glimmers of hope, but for most, their reunion seemed like a lost cause. After announcing they were working on a new album in 2018, it almost felt like they were stringing rap fans along — I mean, even Kweli was shocked by Bey’s insistence that he was coming out of retirement.

But wonder of wonders, it looks like the thing actually exists — and even better, it has a release date. Today, Black Star announced that their comeback album, No Fear of Time, will drop on May 3 via the Luminary podcast network, which also hosts their show The Midnight Miracle with Dave Chappelle and the Uproxx-produced People’s Party With Talib Kweli. The album is entirely produced by the duo’s longtime collaborator Madlib, who dropped his album Sound Ancestors in 2021 after teaming up with Freddie Gibbs in 2019 for Bandana.

In a press release, Kweli explained how the album came together:

“About 3-4 years ago I was visiting Yasiin in Europe and we started to talk about songs to do on an album, so I flew an engineer out just to see what that would be. Once I realized this conversation is starting to organically become a creative conversation, I started making sure to have the engineer around at all times. There was one day we were just in a hotel listening to Madlib beats, and he’s like ‘Play that Madlib tape again.’ I’m playing the beats and he starts doing rhymes to the beats. And that’s how we did the first song.

This is very similar to how we did the first album. But the first album, there were no mobile studios. This entire album, we have not set foot in one recording studio. It’s all been done in hotel rooms and backstage at Dave Chappelle shows.”

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Black Star

Talib Kweli Teased A ‘New Black Star Album’ And Praised ‘My Brother’ Yasiin Bey

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Black Star New Album
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The collaboration between Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey, the artist formerly known as Mos Def, has been one of the most formative albums in hip-hop history. Referred to colloquially as “Black Star,” the supergroup’s sole album together, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, came out over twenty years ago now in 1998. And though both artists have released plenty of music as solo artists since, the demand and hope for a second Black Star record has never abated. Since then, Talib has become a part of Uproxx by launching his People’s Party show.

Today, seemingly out of nowhere, Talib all but confirmed that the follow-up record actually exists, and that it will actually come out. “The new Black Star album was recorded in hotel rooms and dressing rooms across the globe. I love how my brother @yasiinbey pushes me musically. #blackstarforever follow @blackstarkeepshining today…” he wrote, captioning a photo of both men in what is, presumably, one of the many hotel rooms where the pair worked on their new music.

If this news is timely, as in, the album or some new music teasing the project is coming soon, then 2022 just got a whole lot better. Hey, if A Tribe Called Quest can make a comeback album that’s just as good as their old material, why can’t Black Star? Stay tuned.