JULY 9, 1999 First of all, Rawkus has pushed back the release date of Mos' album until October... no other word on that. Rawkus also has show dates for Black Star opening for Lauryn Hill. The dates are posted on the Rawkus events page and they are as follows: "*Sun, July 11th - Jones Beach - Long Island, NY *Mon, July 12th - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ *Wed, July 14th - GTE Amp. - Virginia Beach, VA *Sat, July 17th - Lakewood Amp - Atlanta, GA *Sat, July 24th - MGM Grand - Las Vegas, NV *Wed, July 28th - Coors Amp - San Diego, CA *Fri, Aug 6th - E-Center - Philadelhia, PA *Tue, Aug 10th - Molson Amp - Toronto *Wed, Aug 11th - Darien Lakes - Buffalo, NY *Fri, Aug 13th - TBA - Chicago, IL *Sat, Aug 14th - Starlake Amp, Pittsburgh, PA *Sun, Aug 15th - TBA - Washington, DC Show times are @ 7:00pm. Tickets available thru Ticketmaster." Plus, the Central Park Summerstage show with N'Dea Davenport is scheduled to start at 3:00 in the afternoon on July 17th... JUNE 22, 1999 The DJ Soul mixtape "Competition is None" has the Mos Def tracks "Next Universe" and "Very Well." I'm sure you all have heard the Next Universe from the Soundbombing2 record, but let me tell you about the Very Well joint... It's AMAZING! Mos is back to his "Universal Magnetic" style, fun rhymes with a bouncy track backing him up by 88 Keys. Mos sings the chorus: "So what you doing/ I'm feeling very well/ Rocking this from Brooklyn/ This is my vibration/ Make you have sensation/ When you hear the jam/ All you want to say/ Is happiness..." It's got me even more excited about the album. The mixtape, which also has so new stuff from Tash, Shabam Sahdeeq, and the D.I.T.C. is well worth the ten bucks and you can get it from just about any hip hop online store. JUNE 8, 1999 The Rawkus homepage has an announcement that says that Mos Def's debut album will be released in September. I really hope it is, I'm anxious to see what trip he plans on taking us on. The latest on the Scritti Politti album, which I've heard will be chock full of Mos, can be found at James Lawrence's site. Listen to the "Tinseltown to the Boogie Down" track, which features Mos Def. The album also features Lee Majors of the Bush Babees (I've been wondering what he's been up to). JUNE 2, 1999 I noticed an advertisement in this month's XXL and Source magazines for Mos' new album which it seems will be titled "Black On Both Sides." Like he says in "The Next Universe" joint, "everything in this life son, they've got two sides." No release date was given but the ad noted "Album shipping gold. Mos Def's highly anticipated debut album coming soon. Production by DJ Premier, Diamond & 88 Keys." I expect the album to be released in August or late summer... A quick show date for anyone in NYC, the July 17th Central Park SummerStage will host Black Star, N'Dea Davenport, and DJ Nickodemus. And it's free! One last thing, I was told of a Levi's Jeans billboard in San Fran which features Mos and Kweli. The ad is a picture of Mos Def holding a sign that says "stars," standing next to Talib Kweli holding a sign that says, "are nothing but big balls of gas." There is also another Levi's bilboard which features De La Soul. I haven't seen them, but I'll tell you what, Levi's is on point with this ad campaign... (peace to Matt for this gem) MAY 30, 1999 So, rumor has it that Mos Def was approached by MTV to host the new Yo!MTV Raps style show "Hip Hop Nation," and that they are in negotiations over this. The show will be a video showcase as well as feature segments revolving around the hip hop culture. My opinion on the matter.. Mos, you make that money and spread that love. His light shines too bright to keep in the dark... Mos will be appearing on the new Scritti Politti album "Anomie & Bonhomie" which will be released in July. The first single from the album "Tinseltown to the Boogie Down" features Mos. He is also featured on several other tracks... check Virgin Music for the article. Finally, I found a review of the flick "Where's Marlowe?" which co-stars Mos. The movie sounds very entertaining and has only been shown at film festivals for now (more in the links page). The review is by Devin D. O'Leary from the "Weekly Alibi," a New Mexico weekly paper: "Probably the most entertaining films screened at Taos this year was the hilarious and inventive Where's Marlowe? Writer/director Daniel Pyne spins a unique "first person perspective" mockumentary about two NYU film students (John Livingston and Mos Def) who attempt to recover from their last failure (a none-too-stirring documentary about the New York City's water supply) with a documentary about modern-day private investigators. Unfortunately, the boys choose down-on-his-luck Joe Boone (a perfectly cast Miguel Ferrer) as their subject. Before long, Joe has lost his partner and his business. In order to save their film, our filmmakers decide to break the cardinal rule documentary filmmaking and actually get involved with their subject- by becoming detectives themselves. What ensues is a gut-busting mixture of detective cliches and filmmaking in-jokes." MAY 18, 1999 Well, the Soundbombing II record is now available. The tracks I had previously listed in the discography were incorrect but with about three joints that feature Mos Def, you know it's gonna be a hit. Black Star will be touring with Lauren Hill from May 24th until May 31st. The dates for the shows are: May 26th- Brussels May 27th- Paris May 30th & 31st- London MAY 11, 1999 More on the anti-brutality track "Hip-Hop for Respect" from MTV News: "Common, De La Soul, Cappadonna, Black Moon, Doug E. Fresh, Kool G Rap, Rass Kass, and Sporty Thieves were among the artists who convened in New York City last weekend to record a track railing against police brutality. Inspired by the shooting death of African immigrant Amadou Diallo at the hands of New York Police officers, the artists gathered at New York's Sony Studios to record "Hip Hop For Respect." The single is the outcome of a call placed by Mos Def and Talib Kweli of Black Star to respond to crimes against humanity. Because of the widespread response, Black Star has decided to expand the idea of a benefit single to an album, allowing artists who could not make the recent studio session an opportunity to participate in the project. Proceeds from the single will benefit a foundation with an anti-police brutality mission." Check out the RealVideo interview with Kweli and Mos at the links page. MAY 9, 1999 Happy Mother's Day! Hip Hop Connection Magazine recently named Mos the second best emcee, behind Canibus and named Mos the "Most Important Person on Earth." Mos' comment on the news- "That's blasphemy." Well, I don't know if that's so far from the truth, check this out: "Hip Hop Star Mos Def to open in the World Peace Concert at the Hague The Hague, The Netherlands - One of Hip Hop's most respected MC's, Mos Def of the "Black Star" duo is to be the opening act in the World Peace Concert during the Hague Appeal for Peace Conference (www.haguepeace.org) on Friday May 14. He will be performing a new song, "Peace go with you brother"; a personal reflection on peace. Known for his versatile talent as a rapper, the socially conscious message found in his rhymes, and his activism on civil rights in the USA and Kashmir freedom, Mos Def is a welcome addition to the hundreds of prominent personalities and leaders who are attending the HAP conference this week. In addition to giving the message of peace on stage, Mos Def will be speaking in the Hague Appeal for Peace Core Session on "Conflict Resolution between States and Unrepresented Peoples" and attending the "Kashmir Peace Table" session. In both sessions Mos Def will be joining panel discussions including peace activists, leaders, and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Jose Ramos Horta from East Timor to discuss. He will also join a press conference on Friday morning May 14 of the Council for an Independent Kashmir and will interact with youth from around the world and encourage them to continuing working for global justice and peace." April 30th, Mos got on stage and rocked with J Sands and J Rawls, the Lone Catalysts, at the Wannabattle Massive showcase at Thought Forms in NYC which included Universal Dialect. Sands and Mos traded freestyles and later Mos did "Universal Magnetic." And from the News on the DL section of Hiphopsite.com: 4.19.99- "Mos Def and Talib Kweli, the duo collectively known as Blackstar, will record a track on Tuesday, called 'Hip-Hop For Respect', in response to the unjust NYPD shooting of the unarmed Amadou Diallo. The single will revolve around the subject of police brutality, and will be released on Rawkus records this May. OutKast, De La Soul, Chuck D, Q-Tip, Chico DeBarge, KRS-ONE, Common, Kid Capri, Prince Paul, Xzibit, Red Alert, Mobb Deep, and Defari have all agreed to take part in the project."