If ever there is a genre of music caught in a permanent state of limbo, it has to be alternative hip-hop. Once alternative artists are discovered and break through into the mainstream, they are forever tarnished, if not lost entirely.
In the past few years many former alterative stars have enjoyed great success. Kanye West went from relatively unknown to hip-hop mogul. Just last year we saw the Roots sign a major record deal and produce an album under Russell Simmons monster Def Jam. One of the most recent artists to cross over to the dark side of mainstream media is Common. Sampled during MTV's consumer giant "10 spot" and featured in ads for of all companies, including the Gap, Common's departure from the underground community is nothing new.
This mass defection has left most alternative hip-hop fans feeling as though the cradle has been robbed. After all, if an alternative icon has signed with a major label or fashion tycoon or has been a feature on MTV's "10 spot" during MTV's Real World, it's just no longer alternative. It's just another example of the catch 22 that haunts every artist. The world of alternative rap is undergoing the same problems that alternative rock experienced in the 90s: the prodigal sons of Nirvana and Pearl Jam went from trashing mainstream meat-head jocks to selling them records.
The alternative hip-hop scene is no different.
While the underground scene may have lost some of its greatest artists to the major record companies, it's easy to forget that there are plenty of fish in the sea. Mos Def being one of them.
Mos Def's third solo album entitled "True Magic" doesn't stray far from the messages delivered in his first two. True Magic is about as raw an album as you'll find. No album art, just a clear flimsy plastic case tattooed with the standard Tipper Gore approved parental advisory label, so you know it's good.
As a whole, the album speaks to the everyday guy or girl who's come across tough times. In "There is a Way," Mos Def offers a simple track reminding the down and out, "don't give up, and don't give in." Mos Def also tackles the issue of violence among today's youth in "Murder of a Teenage Life." Mos Def makes the most of his time behind the microphone as other tracks like "Dollar Day" offer solace to the poor of New Orleans.
Nas' newest hit single argues that hip hop is dead, and Mos Def seems to agree in a track called "Fake Bonanza" in which he comments, "Hip-hop, modern time, flossy and raw and so self-absorbed, immature, I can't remember being this bored." I couldn't agree more.
Interestingly enough, while many rappers were arrested in 2006, Mos Def's arrest managed to slip through the headlines. His detainment came about when he performed a song on the streets without a permit called the "Katrina Clap" (a remix of Juvenile's hit single "Nolia Clap"), which is also featured on "True Magic."
Today hip-hop is all too often thought of as an MTV step-child, a genre obsessed with thugging and balling. So while all the members of G-unit continue to shoot each other in the feet in an effort to establish street credibility, and Jim Jones and Manny Fresh, and Baby, continue to ball and shine with their sparkling cars throwing hundred dollar bills at each other, Mos Def comes off as one of the few artists who is truly connected with the issues that concern the urban salt of the earth.
In the end it's good to hear from Mos Def as he continues to deliver fresh and engaging music that challenges his listeners to actually think about what they are hearing. However, I wouldn't expect to hear any of "True Magic" on the radio airwaves anytime soon, so in moments of irony you'll have to go out and splurge the ten or fifteen dollars to enjoy the fruits of Mos Def's labor.
