I Respect Mos Def!!!

I went to see Black Dante last night in Baltimore at Club Sonar off the strength of my man Kevin having an extra ticket that he gave me the "homeboy hook-up" on. Sonar's one of those small venues that feels much more intimate than going to a large arena to see an artist. I prefer these smaller venues over arena performances but most of the artists I wouldn't mind paying to go see perform at the larger venues.

The point is this post is not to talk about Sonar, that's just my segue into what I really want to talk about which is the overall experience of the Mos Def show. I'll try to be quick:

1. A local band/group called Soul Cannon was performing when I got there. It took me a minute to get into their sound (the band was rocking by the time they got into the 3rd song or so) but in the end, I think they were a pretty good. They guy on the mic served as the group's Black Thought and he was a pretty solid rapper.

Sidebar: 1st beer purchased --> Natty Boh


2. The next act was some guy named Hussein from New York. I am really upset that I can't remember his full name because this guy actually held his own solo onstage for like 6 straight songs just spittin'. And not any party songs or dance songs, but like straight lyricism with bangin' beats for about 15 minutes or so. I really liked his set.
3. The next act was some cat who looked like a cross between Buckshot and Michael Pittman. Yes, I know that's random. What's worse is that he walked like Forrest Gump when he had the braces on his legs. Anywho, he sucked BALLZ. The end.

Sidebar: 2nd beer purchased --> Natty Boh AGAIN (they were $3, I'm just sayin)


4. The next act was Jay Electronica. A guy I will admit I've heard a lot of positive things about and even heard NaS give him props so I was anxious to hear his set. I have NEVER listened to a Jay Electronica song in my life. Not for any reason in particular though. And considering he impregnated Erykah Badu I was already questioning his sanity. Turns out that Mr. Electronica started off with a bang (came out and dropped the "Who Shot Ya" instrumental to do his "mic check" over) and had me siced! But it was all downhill from there. The rest of his performance seemed like a drunken stupor of half-performances of songs (like a verse and a half) and jokes that went over about 90% of the audience's head. At one point I actually felt bad and thought to myself: "This guy is actually going to lose potential fans who have heard good things about him because this performance was HORRENDOUS! He must be drunk/high." Needless to say, I was glad when his set ended. I really felt like he did himself and his music a disservice withe subpar performance. You could tell he was a decent rapper but his stage show was pathetic. I hope he reads this (because we all know he cares what I think).

Sidebar: 1st cocktail --> Ciroc and cranberry (LET'S GOOOOOO!!!!)


5. Next act, TALIB MF-ING KWELI!!!! I've seen Talib a couple times already so I knew what to expect. He didn't disappoint as usual. Did all my favorite joints (Hot Thing, Get By, Never Been In Love Before, Hostile Gospel, etc.) and he has a knack for controlling the crowd. Definitely a performance that set the tone for Mos.
6. Finally, MOS DEF. Before I start talking about Mos's performance I want to put this out there. I like Mos Def for the most part but I am not really a follower of his music. I am more so a fan of his features than anything else. I like Black Star far more than I like what I have heard from Mos Def as a solo act. I actually have all of his CDs but I haven't listened to any of them other than a little bit of The New Danger. So my goal was to assess how his show was and not the quality of his music necessarily. Especially since so many people already seem to think he's dope which I don't doubt as far as his lyrical content goes. But music is more than just lyrics.
   
   Mos came onstage in penny loafers, black jeans, and a black t shirt. He started off on those big-azz drums I saw him play on Letterman a few weeks ago. Oddly enough, I enjoy the songs where he plays the drums. I have no idea what the song's titles are but I like the sound of the drums a lot. Moving on though, I mention his clothing selection because he wouldn't stay in the black t shirt long and the penny loafers were foreshadowing what I think was one of the best parts of his performance.
   
   He started off doing that singing bullshyt that I do not really enjoy but it appeared the crowd (aside from me) was really into it. After about 3 songs of that he brought it to some of his more recent stuff for 3 or 4 songs. Again, it appeared everyone was really enjoying the show. I however, didn't know the words so I just nodded to the beat. By the time he got to something I actually knew the words to (and not just the chorus) you can guess who was on stage beside him...TALIB KWELI. Turns out they were doing a Black Star set. YESSSSS! After the Black Star set Mos decided to do some more singing type ish, then channel James Brown for a quick sec, then gave a shout-out to none other than Kanye TuDa.
   
   Peep the audio of him taking up for Kanyeezy.
   
   And that is why the title of this post is "I respect Mos Def". After shouting out Kanye to what seemed to be a good amount of boos from the audience he said something along the lines of how Kanye is his friend and he is sticking by him even though he made a mistake. He also said that Kanye didn't touch or hit Taylor Swift so the amount of hate and castigation and media coverage isn't commensurate with the mistake he made. He then drove home the point that Kanye is getting more coverage and hatred for what he did than Joe Wilson and his "you lie" comments during Obama's specch. He also mentioned how he felt Jay Leno should not have pulled the Donda West card during the interview in which Kanye apologized. I definitely agree with Mos on that point. It was after that comment that I whispered to my man Kevin: "Now watch this room divide along racial lines". It was one of those half-serious-half-joke comments but it was pretty obvious to me that the people clapping were mostly Black (the audience was definitely diverse) and most of the people booing Kanye or putting up their middle fingers were white. I'm just saying. But I respect Mos for sticking up for Kanye even though he didn't have to say shyt about Kanye during that performance. And not just sticking up for him but giving what he definitely thought was a plausible reason to not hate Kanye or find him unforgivable. Kudos to Mos Def and his loyalty. His logic though, I'm not sure I agree with 100%.
   
   After that my favorite part of the show came up. Mos channeled Michael Jackson and did Rock With You (my favorite MJ song of all the times) and covered Billie Jean. And he actually covered Billie Jean pretty well doing the MJ dances and all. After that he did one of the funniest things I've ever seen at a concert. He took the audio from "Randy Watson's" performance on Coming to America and he covered THAT. LOL. It was completely hilarious as he went word for word with the infamous Randy Watson and shouted out "sexual chocolate!" After this he did "Umi Says" which is a song I actually like a lot. From there he ended the show with some old school tunes and although some of the audience had cleared out (it was 1:30 am on a Wed.), lots of people stuck around and made their way up close to the stage just to get a closer view of him before he left.
   
   Overall, the show was good. I definitely enjoyed Talib's set more than Mos's but that was probably because I'm far more familiar with Talib's music. But I definitely like the show that Mos Def put on and wouldn't advise against going to see him in a venue like Sonar.