Mos Def - Black on Both Sides

Released: October 12, 1999

Mos Def [now known as Yasiin Bey], had his career jumpstarted when he collaborated with De La Soul and Da Bush Babees, but got his big break through Black Star, a duo with Talib Kweli (signed to Rawkus Records); with songs like "Respiration", "Brown Skin Lady" and "Definition". Since then, he has been known as the stronger half of the duo, and the most successful. 

After releasing and promoting the duo's only collaborative album, Def finally continued working on his album, along with collaborations with artists such as N'Dea Davenport, DJ Honda and The High & Mighty. This was then followed by the single "Ms. Fat Booty/Mathematics", which was an a/b-side single. Then came the final product...

Black on Both Sides was the final product. The anticipated solo debut, released on Rawkus, just before the 21st century. The album was recorded prior to the Black Star sessions and after a few years of just being a guest or a member of a duo, this was the album where Mos could do whatever he wanted and just rap. Highly regarded as a classic and Mos' best work [yet], the album featured a mix of his conscious self, the underground side and the mainstream side. His singing is portrayed a lot more on here than the Black Star album [especially in Umi Says], and the album had production from producers like 88-Keys, Ayatollah, and DJ Premier; along with features from Vinia Mojica, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes and of course, Talib Kweli.

The album went on to sell a lot to even be certified gold, and Mos began to gain a lot more popularity. As I said before, he would go on to be an actor, but his fans would be disappointed with his later albums (well, apart from The Ecstatic), and would slip away from him.

Too bad people call this his "only good album". Oh well...

1. Fear Not Of Man

Mos produces the intro, which is not bad production-wise. As a matter of fact, the beat is great and really funky. He does a lot of talking, only to spit a few bars just before the end. Could've been better if Mos rapped more in the track. But, the ending rap was still nice.

2. Hip-Hop

Nice, a song dedicated to the genre and culture of Hip-Hop. Yup, I just basically described the concept for you. And this song bangs real hard! With Diamond D on the beat, this is really great!

3. Love

I "Love" this song. A really good song with a "love"ly beat. You see what I did there, huh? Anyway, this song is really nice, and the concept of loving hip-hop so much is really appealing to me. Mos' melodies are portrayed heavily and it's really good how he just does his melodies. I just love this song, and the beat is epic. One of my favourites.

4. Ms. Fat Booty

Of course, this song aka Mos' best song... well, one of his best. Ayatollah's banging beat and the Aretha sample, and the plot of falling in love with a girl. Obviously, this song would go down in history as a classic song, and Mos would go to make a sequel, but unfortunately, that didn't go well. Nevertheless, this song is an instant classic.

5. Speed Law

This reminds me of Havoc's early production, and that's a good thing, because it adds a dark vibe, with Mos' lyrical content. It kinda goes a little dull, but the lyrical performance, Mos nails it!

6. Do It Now (feat. Busta Rhymes)

The first collab on this album, and Mos & Busta go back-and-forth on a banging beat. And as usual, Busta murks this song. But for a banging song where they go back and forth, it sounds like something on a mixtape. Not that it doesn't suit the album, but it'd go better on a mixtape or at least a compilation album. But overall, this song rocks.

7. Got

The first thought that came into my mind when hearing this was that it sounded like a Tribe leftover. But then again, it was produced by Ali Shaheed Muhammed, who was a Tribe member. Anyway, Mos talks about getting got, meaning getting caught, shot and killed, etc. I love the vibe, and the electro-synth samples used here. I like this song, very decent!

8. Umi Says

The song, where Mos shows off his singing and melodies the most on the album. And he's really great with it. It's actually awesome how he managed to even record an all-singing track, especially when rappers back then wouldn't even dare to even record a singing track (singing rappers have increased a little with Phonte & Drake around), unless it was an interlude where they were playing around. One of the highlights I caught on this song was the lyric, "I want black people to be free", which is a really great and inspirational lyric, especially when you think about the racial killing that was going on, and what's happening in Ferguson. Mos even has the chance to interpolate Talib's line in "Astronomy (8th Light)" [on the Black Star album]. But yeah, this is beyond awesome.

9. New World Water

Mos metaphorically makes a song about water, bringing up politics and society. Seriously, I never thought a song about water, out of all things can be very interesting. And the beat is very hot. A really decent song.

10. Rock N Roll

As the title fully suggests, Mos talks about Rock & Roll, and how whites have approached black music. This is pretty much the original version of J Cole's Fire Squad (and everybody knows what that was about), and like "Umi Says", it's an all-singing track. Saying "Elvis Presley ain't got no soul" was a bit offensive, but I get the point since it's about how whites get credit for their music blacks create (just like Eminem getting more credit than a lot of other black rappers). The beat switch up is alright, and I get the point, but the ending switch up just sounds more like punk rock than Rock & Roll, to be honest. Still, a decent song.

11. Know That (feat. Talib Kweli)

There was two main reasons people went out to buy or listen to this. One reason can be because at the time, people wanted to hear a lot of Mos and the other reason: A Talib Kweli feature, which is now finally here. "Know That" can be seen as my favourite Mos/Kweli collab ever, with Ayatollah's banging beat, and the delivery from the two. Ever since this & the Black Star album, many people are excited whenever they pick up a solo project from both Mos & Kweli. This song rocks, 100% fire!

12. Climb (feat. Vinia Mojica)

The rapper/singer collab which is common around these type of projects. A lot of people may hate this, mainly because rapper/female singer collabs are annoying and frequently disliked by rap junkies. The thing is Mos sings with Vinia Mojica, instead of rapping most of the time. It's an alright song, but Vinia has contributed on better things than this, including De La Soul's "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'" and A Tribe Called Quest's "Verses from the Abstract".

13. Brooklyn

A pure gem on this album. Mos raps on 3 instrumentals in 5 minutes. I like the 1st beat, mainly because it's the one where he suits on the most. Imagine if this was the primary beat, instead of using 2 other instrumentals. The second beat is decent, and sounds like a soundtrack to a classic TV show, or at least a movie. The beat samples "We Live in Brooklyn, Baby", which would be later interpolated by Kendrick Lamar in "good kid". And the 3rd one is the classic "Who Shot Ya?" instrumental, heavily jumped on by your favourite rapper. If Mos is your favourite, then... yeah. Mos did a solid job on the instrumental, but many people obviously did better than him on that beat. As I said in the beginning, this is a pure gem.

14. Habitat

Pretty much the weakest track on the album. His delivery and bars were nice, but this didn't do much for me, and is very forgettable.

15. Mr. Nigga (feat. Q-Tip)

Q-Tip comes on the track, but his presence isn't that memorable. This song is really good, but I was expecting Tip to do a verse on this song. But no, he only sang the hook with Mos. The beat is nice and the song is very decent. I like how the interpolate Tip's solo on Midnight Marauders, "Sucka N****", because it makes the hook really catchy.

16. Mathematics

As you have seen from all the tracks on this album, Mos isn't really the type to rap on banging and hardcore beats all the time, so with this, you would've thought Mos wouldn't have suit a DJ Premier beat. Well, YOU THOUGHT WRONG!!! This song rocks, and is one of my favourite songs from Mos. Damn! And apparently, this is one of Premo's favourite beats (and although he has produced better than this, I can see why). Mos goes hard on this, and the beat bangs out heavy. One of Mos' best songs ever.

17. May-December

A nice ending, with a funky and lovely instrumental. Oh well, now it's over.

Black on Both Sides is a really excellent album from one of my Top 10 favourite lyricists. Mos does his thing and shows a stronger side of himself with this album. Without so many people, Mos sure knows how to lead an solo album. With songs like "Brooklyn", "Mathematics" and "Love", making him become a legend, with a few songs holding him down, this is great. The beats are hot, especially the funky "Love" and "Mr. N****", being very tolerable ones. Ayatollah brings his A-game to the album, and Premo bangs out with "Mathematics". Mos' rhymes are awesome and the topics he raps about are interesting. He even manages to do a lot of singing and melodies. As I said before, unless you were playing around or it was just for the hook, back in the day, one rapper wouldn't really simply sing really well.

Appearances, sweet and not a whole lot of features. Mos & Busta going back-and-forth on "Do It Now", Talib coming on their best collab, "Know That", and The Abstract on "Mr. N****" although I thought that he should've played a better part in that song. I mean, when the album first came out, who was actually that eager to hear Tip on a verse? 

But, I'm not saying Black on Both Sides is very flawless. Every good album has at least 1 or 2 flaws, even a classic has a flaw. With every flaw on a great rap album, there's an awful mixtape likely to have a minimum of 2 or 3 good tracks. "Hip-Hop" is a little bit weak, compared to the other tracks, and "Habitat" pushed him down a little. Fortunately, that's doesn't stop it from being great. I recommend a purchase. BUY THIS! STREAM IT! This is a very good album, which shows Mos at his finest. Great and a certified classic!

The Furious 5ive

Mathematics

Ms. Fat Booty

Brooklyn

Know That

Umi Says

Honourable Mentions

Love

Mr. Nigga