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Mos effectively expresses the
anger, frustration, and hopelessness felt by both the
hurricane victims and the rest of the world bearing witness to
this atrocity. His chants of “Lord, lord please save our
souls” touch the spiritual and emotional senses, celebrating
and summoning the traditional African/Black American reliance
on a higher power as a source of hope in the face of turmoil.
"Murder of a Teenage
Life" contains a hard hitting hop-style beat with an eerie
piano sample. Here, Mos vigorously spits the refrain “They
shot the boy!!, they shot the boy!!” driving home the
devastation and outrage experienced after casualties of
domestic and international wars. The listener
experiences emotional agony, empathizing with the suffering
derived from divorce and love lost on “U R the One”. The
pitiful lyrical tone works in conjunction with the
schizophrenic changes in emotion when Mos cries, “U R the the
one, F@ck You!!”
His subtle tributes to hip-hop are smart
and portray true emcee artistry. On “A Ha” he professes that
“These muthaf@ckas is hilarious, and I ain’t no joke”. The
comment is dual fold. It portrays the everyday, run of the
mill rap artist as something to laugh at, and implies that his
music is dead serious. But the lyric also salutes hop great
Rakim and the classic song “I Aint No Joke”. Not to mention
the “ha ha ha ha” laugh is originally a Lauryn Hill snicker
from the song Fu-Gee-La.
Tru3 Magic is the third classic
album from the mighty Mos Def. It is uncut, grown man music,
intended for an audience with an educated listening ear. The
album celebrates Bridge music and, were it not released so
late in the year, would have been the best album to drop in
2006. Peace.
A. Knight II
AnthonyKnightII@thisisrealmusic.com |
