Mos-Kweli team shows hip-hop mastery in debut

Spencer Patterson

Friday, April 29, 2005 | 8:38 a.m.

"One, two, three / Mos Def and Talib Kweli / We came to rock it on to the tip-top / Best alliance in hip-hop."

Even in the self-aggrandizing world of hip-hop, those are confident lyrics for two underground MCs recording their debut album.

Listen to 1998's Black Star collaboration between Mos Def and Talib Kweli, however, and it becomes apparent the duo had good reason to boast.

Seven years after its release, "Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star" stands as one of the finest hip-hop CDs not just of the late 1990s, but in the history of the genre.

Conceived in an era ruled by gangsta rap, the Black Star project demonstrated that socially conscious lyricists still had a place in hip-hop.

It also proved that relatively simple production techniques could be as successful as more far-reaching approaches, provided the rhymes laid on top leave a lasting impression.

Most of Black Star's tracks harken back to the jazz-rap days of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. Led by DJ Hi-Tek -- the group's unofficial third member -- the production cast creates a quiet, mellow mood, emphasizing the MC combo's ample verbal skills.

Mos, who has gone on to greater fame thanks to acclaimed work as a film actor, is the definition of smooth as he slides through "Thieves in the Night": "Most cats in my area be lovin' the hysteria / Synthesized surface conceals the interior / America, land of opportunity, mirages and camouflages."

Kweli's brasher, more biting approach works well in contrast: "Don't be mad at me / I had to be the one to break it to you / You got kicked into obscurity like judo, no, Menudo / 'cause you pseudo," he spits on "RE:DEFinition," which is one of the disc's many highlights.

Though both rappers tour regularly on their own, Mos and Kweli haven't billed themselves as Black Star since their early days, and have performed together infrequently in the years since.

On Sunday, however, Black Star is booked for an honest-to-goodness gig, an appearance at this year's Coachella Music Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif.

The happening is so special, event organizers have placed it in the final time slot on the main stage, after headliner Nine Inch Nails.

If you're a hip-hop fan undecided about driving to Coachella this weekend, hit the road. And if you can't make it, check out Black Star's breakthrough album. Soon you'll be singing the duo's praises right along with them.

Artist: Black Star.

Title: "Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star."

Year of release: 1998 (Rawkus Records).

Tracklisting: "Intro," "Astronomy (8th Light)," "Definition," "RE:DEFinition," "Children's Story," "Brown Skin Lady," "B Boys Will B Boys," "K.O.S. (Determination)," "Hater Players," "Yo Yeah," "Respiration," "Thieves in the Night," "Twice Inna Lifetime."