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Mos Def
10/18/2009
The New Parish
Oakland, Calif.
I could sleep through a storm, and somehow I slept through the announcement that Mos Def was visiting Oakland's new nightclub, The New Parish, this past weekend. That's okay. I found out just in time. And while it takes something big to peel me out of bed and away from the Sunday paper at midnight, a Mos Def show is decidedly big. My Blackstar tape--yes, cassette tape--was already in the car, so I just grabbed my camera and hi-tailed it down MLK boulevard to Oakland.
At the door, I heard the show was nearly over. Damn. I made it just in time to see Mos Def rocking out to Detroit pre-punk band Death's "Freakin' Out." (Mos is working on a documentary about the band.) This seemed like the definite end of the show, but Mos was just taking a vocal break. He danced quite a bit actually, picking up a few cues from Michael Jackson. The dearly departed were up front in his mind, as he freestyled and sang prayers for recently fallen icons Mr. Magic and Roc Raida, among many others.
While I didn't hear Black on Both Sides in full, I still caught "Mr. Ni**a" and "Brooklyn." "Brooklyn" was broken into chunks, like the original, pre-album version. One of the verses was set over loops from Roy Ayers' "We Live in Brooklyn, Baby," a song that was popularized for the hip-hop generation by the Digable Planets' "Borough Check."
I kept hoping for a reprise of "Umi Says," Mos's poetic call for freedom and self-realization. It's more of a soul track than a hip-hop number, probably his most beautiful piece of music. No luck. I missed it. Serves me right for sleeping. And besides, I had that joint cued up for the ride home.
A second Black on Both Sides show takes place at the Independent tonight. Not surprisingly, it sold out as soon as tickets went on sale. Oh, well. Never mind the bridge, East Bay denizens; The New Parish's website promises good things to come.
For more info, visit The New Parish and Mos Def.
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