Essential Hip Hop - Black Star at the Apollo!

One, two, three Mos Def and Talib Kweli……Definition echoed through the roof of Hammersmith Apollo as the 'best alliance' in Hip-Hop came to rock London town as the infamous duo Blackstar. Brooklyn rappers Mos Def and Talib Kweli teamed up as Blackstar and recorded their album of the same name back in 1998, charged with conscious lyrics and soulful beats this album set a benchmark in this era and pioneered the way for “real hip hop.”

Returning to the London stage for the first time since 1999, this highly anticipated double act partied their way through the critically acclaimed album, banging out socially aware tracks such as Definition, a dedication to hip hop late greats 2Pac and Biggie. Tracks such as Black and Brown-Skin Lady draw on Afro-positivism and encourage black empowerment, and is symbolic of the historical definition of the name Black Star; which was the name of Afro-positivist Marcus Garvey’s shipping line. The thread of black appreciation and heavy cultural messages ran through each track they performed, and a special appearance from Jay Electronica sent the crowd in West London crazy.

The general consensus of the night was a group of London ‘hip hop heads’ paying homage to two of Brooklyn’s finest emcees, but on the flipside the onstage chemistry of these moguls was somewhat questionable at times. The arrangement of the tracks they performed which included random hits from 80’s non-hiphop artists failed to engage the crowd, and at some points the pair seemed a little disjointed which confused the audience who otherwise hung onto their every lyric. A little disappointing to say the least as more finesse and composure was expected from such seasoned pros.

A slightly above average night was saved by supporting artists on the night, the legendary De la Soul and Rakim who opened the show. Rakim kicked off with some real ol’ skool raw hip hop for the die hard fans, whilst De la Soul captured the crowd with their typical witty word play, humorous skits and banging beats, excitement ran through the audience as the group gripped them with tracks from debut album 3 Feet High & Rising and well as some of their most recent work. Its safe to say when these guys took to the stage the crowd where alive! Definitely an essential hip hop performance which was long overdue!