Black Star at the House of Blues

IN PERFORMANCE

Review: Black Star at the House of Blues

Black Star (rappers Talib Kweli and Mos Def). (HANDOUT / September 19, 2011)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-0926-black-star-review-20110924,0,2612247.story

By David Drake, Special to the Tribune

8:35 a.m. CDT, September 24, 2011

Black Star — rappers Mos Def and Talib Kweli — became known as the vanguard of introspective, thoughtful hip-hop with the release of its 1998 debut record, "Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star." Since then, the duo has had occasionally fruitful solo careers, but the crowd at the House of Blues Friday was most excited to hear Black Star's classic material. For the second of two shows (the first was at 9 p.m., the second after midnight) Mos Def and Kweli didn't hit the stage until 1:45 a.m., but the packed crowd — dominated by a diverse mix of fans in their late 20s and early 30s — was a loyal and energetic one.

The group's minimal, stripped-down setup featured a single DJ. Mos Def, clad in a button-down dress shirt tucked into a pair of jeans, appeared ready for casual Friday at the office — and Kweli wore similarly grown-up garb. It was appropriate for the crowd, many of whom were likely in their teens when the first Black Star album was released more than a decade ago. It was a time when the hip-hop and pop charts were more closely linked, and a group that went against the grain felt so necessary. Fred Hampton, Jr.'s appearance on stage, leading a "moment of noise" in protest of the execution of Troy Davis, served as a reminder of the group's role in promoting politically conscious hip-hop.

The duo did trip over its lyrics here and there; much of Black Star's catalog, particularly the anti-violence anthem "Definition," features dense, rapid, double-time flows that make for easy error. But for the most part Kweli and Mos Def were in top form, rattling off lyrics with enthusiasm. The only real evidence that it was the group's second performance of the night was Mos Def's slightly ragged singing voice, which still filled the concert hall with a honeyed tone. After the encore — Kweli performed his solo hit "Get By," and Mos Def performed "Umi Says." Mos Def closed the show by dancing around the stage to music by jazz-rockers The Tony Williams Lifetime, holding the crowd's attention until the set's around-3 a.m. conclusion.

A Poem For Troy Davis - By Chairman Fred Hampton Jr.

A Poem For Troy Davis

Chairman Fred Hampton Jr.(POCC/BPPC) ©9/22/11 Still hollerin' Free 'em All!

Coming from a people who've been denied

that of Self Determination. 

 

Shipped on boats,

shackled, and transported like cargo. 

 

Then placed in situations that only the ones who can't speak no mo' and God knows.

From the nameless and the ones that even a mathematician can't count that have been prematurely placed in the graves. 

 

Wedenesday, September 21st, 2011

should be seen as one of our September 11's. 

 

One of the days of everyday

that our kind is terrorized. 

 

We must commit to never forgetting

and to keep on resisting. 

 

Against a criminal system and to always draw the distinction between victim

and that of a fighting back victim. 

 

Let the name of Troy Davis be counted amongst the casualties from Africa to Atlanta,

the Congo to Chicago, from DC to New Orleans,

Tuskegee and back to Haiti. 

 

In this long aged war

that has been waged on Black and other oppressed people. 

 

The undeclared war that has left in its path and aftermath

...widows,orphans,and fetuses.

 ..The victims that have had

legal and illegal needles stuck in their arms. 

 

From being strapped down in gurnees,

forcefully medicated. 

 

To those of us that came back with habits from this country

contaminating plants in Viet Nam. 

 

In closing... Let the record reflect,

that even in the final moments prior to your death. 

 

This country's first colored President select.

Would offer nothing but negelect.

-Chairman Fred Hampton Jr.(POCC/BPPC) Still hollerin' Free 'em All! © 9/22/11