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July 20, 2008
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The New Danger
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The New Milleni 10
The New Danger
11.01.2006 | Vincent Thomas

Let us say this about The New Danger: Don't believe the hype!

There were and still are some critics who complain that Mos bit off more than he could chew with this project. But the exact opposite is the case.

The most heartening development of this new millenni is this new genre of black music. It’s a mix of funk, rock, soul, hop, jazz, blues, gospel -- all of the black idioms. Out of all the albums that would fall under this category -- Electric Circus, Love Below, St. Elsewhere, etc. – The New Danger is the best, the best of what is a revolutionary development in music.

What makes New Danger the best and the faulty-reviews so perplexing is that Mos had complete command of this project. He never lost control. Never wandered. He went everywhere from straight up hard rock (“Freaky Black“) to sexy-seduction (“The Panties“) to hard-hop (“Grown Man Business“) to blues (“Blue Black Jack“) to rock/rap-god arrogance(“The Easy Spell“) to masterful-reprisals (“Modern Marvel“) to hardcore-raw-emotion (“The Beggar“) to industry-social-critique (“The Rape Over“). And, amazingly, almost every track on this sprawling joint is exceedingly dope. The musicianship is nuts and though Mos has his moments of lyrical simplicity, he has even more moments of brilliance.

Now take some of the other submissions in this new genre. Electric Circus is a progressive and creative classic, but Comm isn’t nearly as versatile as Mos and, at times, Circus has moments when its reaching. Love Below is a classic, but Dre has more than a couple moments when his experimentation takes puzzling turns.

The beauty and power and greatness of New Danger is the fact that Mos never really sounds like he's experimenting. He sounds like a vet in each sport, a star at each position.

History may or may not shine favorably on this album when it‘s all said and done. That remains to be seen. But, that's what we're here for: The Musicologists are here to set the record straight. Ten years from now, we might be calling this album one of the ten best of our lifetime. It’s a landmark.

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