Word: blacks
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...spiritual than the bulk of what passes for Top-40 rap today. These are young acts but experienced: Q-Tip, 29, is a former member of A Tribe Called Quest and is releasing his first solo effort. Mos Def, 25, has performed with Talib Kweli as the duo Black Star. And the Roots has five albums under its belt; its members have now honed their skills and are ready for prime time...
...Roots is one of the few bands in hip-hop that actually is a band. Its seven-person lineup consists of drummer Ahmir ("?uestlove") Thompson (his nickname is pronounced "Questlove"), lead rapper Tariq ("Black Thought") Trotter, keyboardist Kamal Gray, bassist Leonard ("Hub") Hubbard, "human beatbox" Kyle ("Scratch") Jones, vocal percussionist Rozell ("Rahzel") Brown (who imitates turntables and other sounds using his voice) and Malik ("Malik B") Abdul-Bassit (who rarely tours...
...Black on Both Sides (Rawkus), Mos Def's cultural concerns reveal themselves in every number. The opener, Fear Not of Man, delivers a manifesto: "We are hip-hop. Me, you, everybody... So the next time you ask where hip-hop is going, ask yourself: Where am I going?" On the song Mr. Nigga, Mos Def raps along with Q-Tip about the myriad indignities faced by young blacks at the hands of policemen, waiters and others, even when the young black men in question are rich and successful. "Even if it's never said and lips stay sealed," he raps...
...film for New Line, which he co-wrote, titled Prison Song. He describes it as a "hip-hop opera" that explores the pressures of the penal system. Mos Def and the Roots' Thompson have roles in Spike Lee's Bamboozled, a film that satirizes television. The Roots' Black Thought has a starring role in Brooklyn Babylon, the forthcoming film by Marc Levin, director of the edgy Slam...
...overtly focused on chart topping. "Follow your heart/And not mankind," Q-Tip raps on Do It, See It, Be It. Eclecticism is seen as a virtue. The Roots is working on a cover of Bob Dylan's 1976 song Hurricane, a protest anthem about Rubin ("Hurricane") Carter, a black boxer sentenced to die for a crime he didn't commit. The song is scheduled to appear on the sound track to the Denzel Washington film The Hurricane. Mos Def is also contributing material to the album...