Word: def
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Three acts--the Roots, Q-Tip and Mos Def--are at the front of hip-hop's new movement. All three have recently come out with accomplished albums. And all three are creating hip-hop that's more personal, political and 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...
...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...
...Next Wave is also getting screen time. Q-Tip is set to star in a 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...
...based on Lyricist Lounge, a showcase founded in New York City in 1991 by Anthony Marshall and Danny Castro as a place for unsigned rap artists to display their skills. The founders have since taken their open-mike show on tour and released a compilation album of highlights (Mos Def and Q-Tip make guest-star appearances...
There are also those who question whether deejay culture is being homogenized by merging with rock. DJ Premier has been busy of late: he collaborated with Limp Bizkit, he provided scratching on Lilith Fair veteran Paula Cole's new album and he worked on rapper Mos Def's brilliant new CD, Black on Both Sides (Rawkus). It's a sign of how divided feelings are that, on his album, Mos Def takes a lyrical swipe at hip-hop tinged rock-pop acts, including one his producer DJ Premier worked with, Limp Bizkit. "I ain't tryin' to slow your groove...