Over the last five years they have established themselves as key players in the community, recognised via major blogs, stations and websites all over the world, while closer to home gaining airplay on stations including BBC 1Xtra. Manchester, you’ve got some true homegrown talent hitting the stage at O2 Ritz! Seven Spherez are a hip hop duo from the city, consisting of producer ‘Dr.G’ and Emcee ‘Ghost One’. Yasiin Bey will play O2 Ritz Manchester and O2 Academy Bristol on 31 January and 3 February respectively, and as well as the main man himself, you can expect great things from the hip hop talent that he’s bringing along for the ride. One of rap’s true greats is coming to the UK for what will be one of the most talked about hip-hop events this year. Manchester, O2 Ritz – Tuesday 31 January £25.00 advīristol, O2 Academy – Sunday 3 February £29.50 adv SUPPORT ACTS ANNOUNCED FOR MANCHESTER AND BRISTOL SHOWS It's his most pure "album" in my opinion, and I can't state how much I love the Middle Eastern influences that are present for the entire album.A unique performance of the classic Mos Def album The Ecstatic. In the end, this is Mos' best album since Black On Both Sides. Kweli and Slick Rick are the only two featured artists on the album (aside from Georgia Ann Muldrowe on Roses). Thankfully, this track is followed by "History" with reunites Mos with Kweli for a BlackStar reunion. It's a shame, because the entire album is good with the exception of this song, and it happens to be towards the very end of the album. However, he does misfire on "Roses" which is easily the albums lowest point. It's amazing that over time I've grown to really like this song, even if I don't understand a damn thing. Mos speaks in Spanish for the entire song, and the tracks sounds much more like a love song that a rap song. One example of this working is on "No Hay Nada Mas". Mos isn't afraid to take risks (as he proved on The New Danger) whether they pay off or not. One thing I love about Mos is that he isn't concerned with being "the best rapper alive" or any of the other trivial titles that all other rappers are concerned with. If anybody needed a reminder the Mos Def is one of the best lyricists of all time in hip-hop, this song (and album in general) is it. "Style and state radiate/love power slay the hate/truth killer flakey face/players say it to their face/ain't afraid to major straight/grace at the table straight/flow greatest like the greatest lakes/capes all greatest states/quiet water major waves". Nothing is simple about the wordplay he follows that up with though. "Peace before everything/god before anything/love before anything/real before everything/home before anyplace". It's a very powerful song, partly because of the message, but also because of Mos' delivery.
"Priority" is one of the most spiritual songs on the album, as Mos outlines what our priorities should be in life. Mos has always been one of the most humble and honest rappers there is, and that makes this album very easy to relate to. The whole album is very down to earth, but uplifting at the same time. Mos simply raps about the high unemployment rate and the day to day munadane life of working a 9-5, living paycheck to paycheck to keep the lights on. Flash produces "Worker's Comp" which is the perfect song for the times we are in. The greatness of Mos isn't limited to the Madlib tracks though. Madlib produces 4 of the tracks on this album (Wahid, Pretty Dancer, Revelations, and the Slick Rick assisted Auditorium), and it's no surprise that these are 4 of the best tracks on the album. Most of the tracks have Middle Eastern influences regardless of who produces the track. Mos samples guitars (and the chorus) from an old Turkish song, and the rest of the album follows the theme of using Middle Eastern instruments throughout this album. The opening track "Supermagic" hits like a hammer. However, the production on this album is without question the best production since Black on Both Sides. Mos Def has always been a very talented rapper, and the strength of his albums has always been his lyrics. It's been a long time since I've heard an album of this caliber, and I still can't think of a better rap album to come out since this album was released nearly 3 years ago.
It's been a long This album deserves a 12 out of 10 if I were basing my score on the relativity to other rap albums over the past 5 years. This album deserves a 12 out of 10 if I were basing my score on the relativity to other rap albums over the past 5 years.
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