The New Danger, Reviewed

Thank your higher power for Mos Def.

Just when it seemed like it was no longer safe to be a musical elitist and listen to Hip-Hop, the artist commonly referred to as Black Dante decided to release his long-awaited sophomore album, a confusing, edgy and brilliant piece of musicianship. If Black on Both Sides was rap's equivalent of OK Computer, then The New Danger is its Kid A, the kind of album that induces pompous music critics to cream their pants and beg for more.

Mos Def, for those of you who have been living in a bomb shelter for the past ten years, is considered to be a god of modern positive rap. His debut album, the aforementioned Black on Both Sides, brought positive rap, an established if relatively unknown commodity, into the mainstream. On the strength of that disc alone, Mos catapulted himself into the same league as established icons like Q-Tip, De La Soul and Digable Planets.

As incredible as Black on Both Sides was, however, it only served to perfect a well-established genre. Frustrated, Mos threw away the blueprint and decided to build a new mousetrap. And by mousetrap, I mean rap album.

So how exactly do you go about this? Well, in a tribute to the Roots, Mos decided to start his own live band, Black Jack Johnson. Instead of leaning on synthesizers and drum machines to provide his beats, he now has a bunch of his pals jamming behind him. Unlike other rap-rock hybrids, which were basically an excuse for the lead singer to wear his cap backwards, Black Jack Johnson construct their songs with an eye towards exploiting Mos Def's strengths as a lyricist and singer. And you know what? It works well.

That said, this is not your granddad's rap album. You love P.Diddy and his hooks? Just one track, "Sunshine", features such a concession. Like collaborations? Tough luck. Excluding the songs featuring Black Jack Johnson, there is just one duet with Minnesota, on "Grown Man Business (Fresh Vintage Bottles)". Like your beats ripped from a Top-10 production? This just isn't your day then. Most of the loops on this disc would be at home on a Dizzee Rascal album (see the track "Sex, Love, and Money") ; they are heavily steeped in orientalism and minimalist in nature, to borrow the latest sexy buzzwords.

The CD provides the artist to indulge in musical experimentalism. On "Blue Black Jack" and "Bedstuy Parade and Funeral March", Mos has fun singing the blues. "The Panties", in turn, sounds like a foray into ambient, whereas "The Begger" has a more soulful feel.

Even the more traditional, rap-oriented tracks allow him to manifest his tremendous versatility. Compare, for example, the aggressive, accented lyricism on "Zimzallabim" with the even-headed flow on "Champion Requiem", a eulogy to the rapper's many heroes and idols. Even in the uncommon musical environment that is The New Danger, Mos continues to shine as only he knows how:

And get you off that strange shit
That all of these other cats run game with
Consider this the moment that changed it

Yes, you are stunned. BOW TO YOUR SENSEI!!!

Of course, it would hardly be a Mos Def album without a few crackpot theories thrown in. "The Rape Over", a furious meditation on the current state of the industry, provides this in droves. The song "War" is far more interesting, and makes for an interesting reflection on the state of the world we live in. Mos is angry, and you would do well to step aside and let him charge right by:

Eye-level with death, even beneath radar
Eye-level with death, and she's got pretty eyes

In conclusion, give the man some money. You may not agree with his views, but this is the kind of album that only comes once a year. I mean, a meaningful hip-hop album? How can you pass up that sort of thing?

I leave you with one last rhyme:

And my work is personal, I'm a working person
I put in work, I work with purpose

Damn straight.

Listening to: Close Edge - Mos Def