Black Star is an American hip-hop duet formed in 1997 in Brooklyn ( New York , NY ) consisting of rappers Mos Def and Talib Kweli . The debut album of the band "Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star" , released in 1998, was highly praised by critics, but received very modest commercial success. After which the duo periodically worked on individual soundtracks and other projects, moving forward as solo artists. Each of them released several albums and repeatedly became the winner of various awards. However, formally the group was not dissolved and occasionally reunited.
| Black star | |
|---|---|
 Black Star in 2012 at Ilosaarirock . | |
| basic information | |
| Genres | Hip-hop Alternative rap |
| Years | since 1998 |
| A country |  USA |
| City | New York |
| Where from | |
| Language of songs | English |
| Labels | Rawkus records |
| Composition | Mos def Talib kweli |
Duo Story
Black Star emerged from the underground movement of the late 90s and, thanks to the indie label Rawkus Records , settled in New York . Together with other members of the Native Tongues collective, they were able to give the alternative rap of the Underground the level of the dominant direction in music.
Black Star made a big impact on their album both with their songs about social consciousness, political issues, and their categorical statements on the deaths of Christopher George Leitor Wallace (also known under the pseudonym Biggie Smalls ) and Tupac Amaru Shakur in the late 90's, in that the very period when youth hip-hop movement was under the canonized control of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur . Black Star tried in their songs "Definition" (the term "Interpretation" ) and "Redefinition" (the term "Reinterpretation") to resolve the differences.
In 2001, Black Star presented their track "Money Jungle" together with Ron Carter , John Patton in the Red Hot Organization's Red + Indigo collection, dedicated to Duke Ellington , who raised money for various AIDS education and charitable organizations. In 2002, the song "Hater Players" ( dubbed "Dirty Players" ) was used in an episode of the film The Wire ( Russian "wiretap" ) in the first season of episode 10.
Discography
Studio Albums
| Title | Description | Position | Certifications | Sales | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [one] | US R&B [2] | US Rap [3] | |||||||||||
| Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star |
| 53 | 13 | - |
| ||||||||
| "-" means the album did not hit the chart | |||||||||||||
Singles
| Title | Year | Position | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] | US R&B [4] [5] | US Rap [5] | CAN [5] | ||||||||
| " Definition " | 1998 | 60 | 31 | 3 | - | Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star | |||||
| " Respiration " (with Common ) | 1999 | - | 54 | 6 | - | ||||||
| "One Four Love Pt. 1" (with the participation of Common, Kool G Rap , Pharoahe Monch , Posdnuos , Rah Digga , Shabaam Sahdeeq , Sporty Thievz ) | 1999 | - | 55 | four | 6 | Hip Hop for Respect EP | |||||
| "Fix Up" [6] | 2011 | - | - | - | - | n / a | |||||
| "-" means that the single did not hit the chart or was not published in this region. | |||||||||||
Notes
- ↑ Mos Def Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200 . Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Date of treatment June 18, 2012.
- ↑ Mos Def Album & Song Chart History: R & B / Hip-Hop Albums . Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Date of treatment June 18, 2012.
- ↑ Mos Def Album & Song Chart History: Rap Albums Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Date of treatment June 18, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Mos Def Singles at AllMusic . AllMusic . Date of treatment February 4, 2011.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Hip Hop For Respect EP Chart History . AllMusic . Date of treatment February 4, 2011.
- ↑ Fix Up - Single by Black Star on Apple Music