Black Star Releases Second Album After 24-Year Hiatus

It may not exactly be Christmas in July, but for fans of old-school hip-hop today might be just as special.

For the first time in nearly 24 years, a new Black Star album has dropped.

The release of “No Fear of Time,” first announced in April of this year, reunites Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, and Talib Kweli. 

Their 1998 debut as a duo, “Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star," was met with critical acclaim, helped bring alternative rap to the mainstream and launched the individual careers of two of the most prominent and successful rappers in the “conscious” rap movement.

The reunion, while highly anticipated, will require fans to put their money where their music is if they want to listen to the nine new tracks.

Subscription podcast platform Luminary, which arrived on the scene two years ago with much fanfare describing itself as the Netflix of podcasting, before fading mostly into obscurity, is the only place to access the music legally.

While a platform that prides itself on not inserting advertising into the podcasts it hosts may seem like an unusual place to release one of the most anticipated hip-hop albums in over two decades, the group has its reasons for the decision and believes that those who truly support them as artists and musicians will pay to listen (an annual subscription to the platform is around $35) to the new material.

“If you bought the Black Star album in the last 20 years, you paid Universal Records, which is one of the biggest companies on Earth. You know who you did not pay? You did not pay Black Star because we didn't see any of that money,” Talib Kweli told NPR’s Morning Edition when asked about the risk of putting Black Star’s music behind a paywall.

Courtesy Photo: Mathieu Bitton

He continued, “You know, people come and say, 'Hey, what about what I want? I want the vinyl. I want it on Spotify. I want...' What you want does not matter. Know what I'm sayin'? What Black Star wants matters.”

Kweli added that the album, produced by Madlib, confronts similar themes as the duo's past work, which was inspired in part by Amiri Baraka in the Black Arts Movement and Nina Simone among others, and concentrated on themes of black excellence, unity, confronting racism and elevating consciousness.

“We stand tall on the shoulders of our ancestors,” Kweli said. “The canon of black art is amazing, and it is the lifeblood of all great art that comes from America in particular. Black people in America have been the moral compass, and we have been the ones who have elevated the art and we have been the ones who have made the most original American things. Black Star started in Brooklyn, but at this point, we are citizens of the world, and I feel like this album represents that type of growth for us.”

Soul Singer Otis Jackson Sr., Father of Hip-Hop Stars Madlib and Oh No, Dead at 77

Photo Credit: @nowagain (Instagram)

Over the weekend, it came to light that Otis Jackson Sr., the father of two hip-hop prodigies celebrated for both their rap and production skills, died on April 13 at the age of 77.

The death of Jackson Sr., a singer and a session musician for jazz and soul gigs for act including Tina Turner and Bobby “Blue” Bland and whose singing is said to have impressed famed producer Axelrod, was announced Sunday on Instagram by Eothen Alapatt, seven days before what would have been his 78th birthday.

The former general manager of Stones Throw Records, the independent music label which represents a majority of Jackson Sr.’s sons Otis “Madlib” Jackson Jr. and Michael “Oh No” Jackson’s work, Alapatt — known professionally as Egon — wrote a touching tribute to the man he said was directly responsible for Madlib and Oh No’s rise in the industry and was a musician of note himself.

“He was born nearly 78 years ago, on May 8th, 1944. He died on April 13th. I knew him nearly as long as I’ve known Madlib and Oh No, and any that know the brothers, and so many of their compatriots, know that they got their start in music because of Otis’s, and his wife Sinesca’s, belief in their musical excellence,” Alapatt wrote on Sunday.

He continued, “He should be one to know – he was a soul singer of high regard, the kind of singer who even impressed the great David Axelrod, who, in our first meeting, was effusive in his praise for Madlib’s dad.”

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Alapatt noted that Axelrod’s best friend, H.B. Barnum, produced a series of songs for Jackson Sr., two of which saw release on Mega Records.

“Beggin’ for a Broken Heart” and “Message to the Ghetto” were released by the label in 1974. In 2006, Jackson released his full-length debut album “The Art of Love,” which featured production work from both his famous sons and an uncredited rap from Oh No on “It's All The Same (Hip Hop).”

Alapatt added that he had been working to compile Jackson Sr.’s other singles into an album and shared the liner notes from music journalist Jeff Mao, a former staff writer at Vibe and XXL magazines, who agreed to work on the project.

“Encompassing tenor and baritone ranges in performance, and punctuated by an occasional mischievous chuckle in conversation, his instrument reflects the ups-and-downs of a decades-long journey – from community gospel prodigy to independent soul navigating an unforgiving music industry to parent and mentor of two revered hip-hop production auteurs,” Mao wrote in part. “It also happens to command, with a grace and gravitas commensurate with these experiences, as impeccable a handful of rare soul recordings as you’ll hear.”

The album will be released next year according to Alapatt.

No cause of death has been released and neither Madlib nor Oh No have publicly commented on their loss, but other members of the Stones Throw Records family took to the internet to pay their respects to Jackson Sr., including Lootpack’s Wildchild.

“RIP Mr Jackson!” he wrote on Instagram. “This Gentleman here was the 1st meaning of support for me! He was my (Equalizer) ‘This ain’t yo house, Get yo feet off my couch Jack, but make yourself at home but realize this ain’t your home so respect my s—t!’ Lol I didn’t get that til later in life.”

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He continued, “He wasn’t my father but gave guidance as a father figure would do. He was there when Lootpack was first formed. He was our first manager as our crew CDP was developing. He and Mrs Jackson (RIP) were both there when I decided to propose to my wife @cyndeebrown . I witnessed how he supported his sons @ohnothedisrupt & @madlib as we jumped into HIPHOP. For that I will always be thankful. May you rest in Heaven Mr Jackson.”

Mary Mary, Dru Hill, Tevin Campbell and The Whispers Among This Year's Black Music Honors Award Winners

Singer and actress LeToya Luckett host the seventh annual Black

Music Honors award show alongside comedian DeRay Davis

May19.

Fans of old-school hip-hop, R&B and gospel music are in for a treat this May.

The seventh annual edition of the Black Music Honors award show will feature a lineup studded with some of the mediums’ biggest stars from the past.

Among this year’s honorees is R&B supergroup Dru Hill, former teen idol Tevin Campbell and groundbreaking gospel duo Mary Mary.

Singer and actress LeToya Luckett will host the show — whose mission is to pay homage to “the legendary African-American artists who have influenced and made significant musical contributions to African-American culture and American music worldwide,” alongside Comedian DeRay Davis.

The two-hour ceremony will be taped live on May 19 in Georgia’s Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta and is scheduled to be broadcast via national syndication from June 4 to July 3. It will also air on Bounce TV on June 25 as part of the network’s Black Music Month programming.

“We are more than excited to return to in-person taping for the first time in nearly three years with a live audience,” Don Jackson, the founder and executive producer of the awards, said in a statement. “The pandemic had an unprecedented impact on the music industry and we’re honored to celebrate, commemorate and honor music trailblazers who have paved the way for the next generation of music and culture.”

Dru Hill is scheduled to receive the Urban Music Icon Award. The group first rose to prominence in the 1990s with their effortless blend of hip-hop, soul and gospel music. Over its long career the group has produced seven Top 40 hits.

Campbell will be honored with the R&B Icon Award. The “Can We Talk” singer is a five-time Grammy nominee. Mary Mary will be presented with the Gospel Icon Award while NAACP Image Award-Winning Singer Karyn White will also be recognized with the Soul Music Award.

Singer-Songwriter Keri Hilson, the driving creative force behind two Billboard 200 albums and 10 Hot 100 hits, will take home the Music and Songwriter Icon Award. The Legends Award will go to The Whispers who have released 16 Billboard 200 albums and 12 Hot 100 hit songs over the span of their nearly 60 years of performing.

For more information about Black Music Honors or to purchase tickets for the live-taping event click here.