WODU Radio NEWS!

Full disclosure, I have been a Mos Def Fan since the days of Black Star. Tracks like Definition and Respiration had me dumbfounded. Producer Hi-Tek blended jazz rifts and hip-hop beats to a perfect blend of classic. Mos Def has me perfectly hooked by Black on Both Sides, a true classic. Ecstatic the album itself, is a solid offering but does need some tweeking to become a top 3 Mos album. Tours provide the venue to tweek these tracks into classics.

The Governor's Island venue was a great idea, however, it rained its ass off but the true fans did not mind. The NYPD didn't mind the green atmosphere as well.

Since I'm a fan, let's start with the BAD and get it out of the way.

The show had a late start and the opening acts were subpar. NY Rapper Hussein was solid but his cadence got old quickly. Medina was skillful but too preachy and a little bland. And what can I say about JAY ELECTRONICA that hasn’t been said on the internet. Gifted but surprisingly too gully to open up for Mos. I like my hip-hop with a blood alcohol level under .04 please?! And can we please continue the track before you stop every 3rd bar to break into your stand up comedy routine… which was CW at best. *SIGH*. Finally 3 hours after the ticket time, Mos started the show.

THE GOOD. Mos of course had to show his gifted percussion skills and crushed a 10 minute percussion heavy version of the album’s title track. The Tweli Kelib produced track HisTory was one of the highlights of the show and one of my personal favs. The live version of The Auditorium should have been on the album, heavy with Caribbean rifts and drum solos, it definitely killed!

THE UGLY. After a 45 minute wait after the drunk JAY ELECTRONICA. Mos completely concentrated on the new album and did not, I REPEAT, did not do Ms. Booty, Umi Says, Brooklyn, or any of the historical tracks, but as DJ Floetic (Poet Josh) just reminded me, Mos has had no promotion for this album and thus must bombard us with the whole album. *SIGH* Capitalism definitely my least favorite word. However, I've always like Mos Def's Caribbean vocal styling but he actually did a Billie Jean cover during the concert. A Billie Jean cover? The percussion version of RockWitcha … I was o.k. with but fuuuureaal Mos? The Mos Def Moonwalk made us laugh, but for me, to watch another artist do a Michael Jackson tribute made me cry (and not in a happy way) .. in spite of the green skies at Governor's Island.

Ecstatic is a concert worth seeing if you are a Mos fan, however, if you are new to Mos Def or even fairly new to the Mos Def experience, I'd advise you to wait for a better ticket.