It was 1998 and there was a music video that completely left all Hip-Hop heads open – why because it had a feel that was slightly reminiscent of early 90’s Hip- Hop. The video repped Brooklyn, New York, and not only Brooklyn but Flatbush, Brooklyn in a way that had never been done before, from the seat of a dollar van. – giving love to all people of Caribbean descent in Brooklyn. It was then that we were introduced and many fell in love with a charismatic man – not the average rapper – an “Original B-Boy Apostle,” Mos Def. Dante Terrell Smith, then one half of the duo Black Star where he performed along Talib Kweli, had been in the Hip-Hop game since 1994 when he was part of a group named Urban Thermo Dynamic, which he formed with one of his brothers and his sister. However it was not until the release of “Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star” that the masses took notice particularly with the release of the singles Definition and Respiration.

Just one year later Mos, as we at RBMVibes, refer to him, dropped a solo album that let us know that we were “Black On Both Sides.” Mos blew up the spot of every Ms. Fat Booty, letting all the dudes know that she gave out the fake cell phone and name. He also had us all giving mad love to our mom through Umi Says. Mos then took some time off to flex he acting chops, which he does extremely well and has won critical acclaim for his work on television, movies, and in theatre. However, we all longed for that dude we blended rap, reggae, rock, and the blues. And with the release of 2004’s “The New Danger,”  Mos gave us an album which truly crossed genres having an extremely heavy rock feel to it, especially felt in the single Ghetto Rock.

Never one to shy away from letting us know where he really stood on any issue in 2005 Mos released Katrina Clap in response to what he hailed as the non-action of the Bush cabinet in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In 2006 he released  ”True Magic,” which many of us did not even know about.

Mos is back, and many of us were waiting for him. On June 9, 2009 he released “The Ecstatic,” an album that takes us back to an earlier version of Mos, the Mos we saw on Black On Both Sides. RBMVibes is feeling Auditorium and Wahid, but check out the whole album and let us know what your favorite Mos song is from “The Ecstatic” – everyone is bound to find one.

The Ecstatic

Classic Mos Videos