POP MUSIC
Mos Def (in a photo from Nov. 3) was part of the Breed Love Odyssey Tour at the 9:30 club.
(By Karl Walter -- Getty Images)
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Buju Banton
Few performers can brag of a die-hard, whistle-blowing fan base these days.
Only the occasional house diva, the rare oldies circuit disco star or a dancehall king like Mark Anthony Myrie, better known as Buju Banton, can create an environment so charged that people feel comfortable enough to express their appreciation of the music by tooting through an entire show.
At the Crossroads on Saturday night, there was not only blowing of whistles, but also beating on bars, smacking of walls and other physical actions that communicated approval as the Jamaican superstar took to the stage. "Greetings I bring!" he shouted, pausing to recognize the capacity crowd after a warm-up that included the pulsating "Only Man" and "Champion."
Backed by the Shiloh Band, the reformed nasty man who converted to Rastafarianism in the '90s, performed with the slack off, forgoing the bawdiness in favor of the culturally rich roots-influenced dancehall he has been perfecting for the last decade. The show was heavy on songs from " 'Til Shiloh," the hit-filled 1995 masterwork that sealed his transformation, such as the anti-violence "Murderer," which places Banton's gruff, urgent voice over the dallying "Far East" riddim; and "Untold Stories," where various tales of poverty and struggle told over basic guitar chords are separated by the somber chorus, "I could go on and on, the full has never been told."
The tone became more joyous with the help of tracks that explored faith from 1997's "Inna Heights," including the short prayer "Our Father in Zion," and "Destiny," and the mood became positively euphoric with obviously celebratory songs such as "Bonafide Love" and "Pull It Up."
-- Sarah Godfrey
Mos Def and Talib Kweli
As solo artists, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are among hip-hop's finest lyricists, and they're even more powerful packaged as a set. At the 9:30 club Friday night, as part of the Breed Love Odyssey Tour (along with K'naan, Jean Grae and Pharoahe Monch), the Brooklyn MCs gave solid individual sets, but they were tiptop when they came together as the best alliance in hip-hop, Black Star.
The reunion came right after Kweli's performance, highlights of which included his cartoon-worshiping verse from the MF Doom duet "Old School," the socially conscious anthems "I Try" and "Lonely People" (which takes its chorus from "Eleanor Rigby"), and the airy reverb and thick bass line of "The Blast." During his last number, "Get By," Kweli, who has a new album out ("Right About Now"), was joined onstage by Mos Def.
The duo served up only a few tracks from the group's self-titled 1998 Rawkus release, among them the dancehall-inflected "Definition" and lyrical "Respiration," before it was time for Mos to go it alone. The rapper-turned-actor ripped the stage with "Ms. Fat Booty" from 1999's "Black on Both Sides" and the hurricane-themed single "Katrina Klap." He announced that his upcoming album will highlight his bellowing singing voice, and he proceeded to preview the new material.
Mos's set was punched up by an interruption just after midnight, when all the performers came together to wish Grae a happy birthday and the headliners presented her with a gift everyone could enjoy: a serenade of the Black Star favorite "Brown Skin Lady."
