Black Star
The Coronet, London | 31 March
It’s pretty safe to say that Black Star as a duo have their best work behind them. Although the two stellar MCs are habitual collaborators to this day, their only full length, Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star, is now a decade and a half old. Some may even argue that as soloists they’re past their peak.
Kweli’s recent work is best described as patchy, his efforts to shake his ‘conscious rapper’ pigeon-hole are reasonable, but feel forced. Mos Def’s most recent album The Ecstatic is, by comparison, a far more inventive and exciting listen but it’s nearly five years old and since then we’ve had little to go on but a smattering of features under new moniker Yasiin Bey (which Def is billed as tonight). London still has a lot of love for the double act though; this Monday show was added after the Saturday sold out, and the queue outside was bubbling with positive murmurings about that first appearance.
Support at The Coronet came from London’s Mr Thing with an array of golden era classics (including every good record Nas has ever made) and J Rocc of The Beat Junkies, whose wild energetic start unfortunately ran dry after an hour or so as Black Star were tardy. When they finally arrived, Def and Kweli wasted no time, leaping from group tracks to their own respective solo tracks, both old and new. There was no space for filler, and by the third track they were onto their classic Definition, greeted with the obligatory hip-hop exclamations from all corners. The chemistry was effortless, each played hype-man for the other’s solo tracks with only the healthiest of one-upmanship. Still, we couldn’t help but compare the two. At first it seemed Yasiin had the wealth of material and presence but later Kweli’s renditions of The Blast and Get By got huge receptions. His new single State of Grace suffered from a histrionic chorus but Kweli’s flows were some of his strongest of the night, perhaps a sign that he had the most to prove.
As a double act the two compliment each other fantastically. Kweli is the hip-hopper’s choice bringing busy technical flows whilst Yasiin steps further outside the box with his indefinable vocal approach. Yasiin’s Quiet Dog saw him flowing with incredible adeptness and revelry whilst dancing on the spot and, of course, on Umi Says we all had a bit of a moment. By the end of the show it was clear this wasn’t just a hip-hop heritage thing. The trips down memory lane were of course enjoyable, but this was far more than simple retreading old territory. This was living proof that these guys are still very much worth their salt.
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Words: Jack Lucas Dolan
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