TS: Mos Def - Black on Both Sides vs. Talib Kweli

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

While Black On Both Sides is regarded as a modern classic, and it definitely is very good, I prefer the Reflection Eternal. Nothing really stands out on it in the way that certain tracks on Black on Both Sides do, but I prefer Kweli's voice and flow to Mos Def's.

― Christian, Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Ah, 1999.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Mos Def then, Talib Kweli ever since.

― Zimmer026 (Zimmer026), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Mos then, neither now

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:51 (twenty-one years ago)

mos now and then. skrew the haters

talib mushmouth kweli was on Cameron Diaz's Trippin last night. he was pretty boring

― [that bastard] jaxon (jaxon), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I did love Reflection Eternal at the time though. I lost it somewhere along the way, and I keep glancing at the $9 copy in the record store.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 20:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I bought Black on Both Sides on Sunday for 8 bucks.. I feel like I overpaid.

― Actor Sizemore fails drug test with fake penis (jingleberries), Tuesday, 24 May 2005 21:54 (twenty-one years ago)

ah, this question makes me sad and nostalgic. but christian pretty much got it: BOBS has more dazzling highlights and mos gets props for taking more risks with genre and such, but RE is a more consistent album even though it's a little fillery. (cue obligatory "if they'd combined the highlights into one blackstar disc...")

― swvl (vozick), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 00:51 (twenty-one years ago)

universal magnetic!

i can't stand talib

― jj, Wednesday, 25 May 2005 01:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Train of Thought's a dope album! fuck Mos, overrated rapper and actor.

― Al (sitcom), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 01:38 (twenty-one years ago)

c'mon al bobs is pretty great!

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 02:16 (twenty-one years ago)

I dunno, I only listened to it a few times when my brother had it, it had a few good songs but also a lot of 'genre defying' bullshit.

― Al (sitcom), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 02:17 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah BOBS def (ha) has its share of genre-playing bullshit. but out of 17 tracks, i count at least 9 (hip hop, ms fat booty, speed law, do it now, know that, brooklyn, habitat, mr nigga, mathematics) that are just great, straight-up hip-hop tracks in the style that mos is most comfortable in...the lows can be very skippable, but i'd buy a cd for 9 songs of that quality any day...

― swvl (vozick), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 02:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Black on Both Sides had to be one of my most listened-to albums sometime around 2001. A couple of the songs kind of annoy me and get the skip treatment nowadays, but I still love it.

― sleep (sleep), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 02:35 (twenty-one years ago)

man, the only thing skipable on Black on Both Sides is the metal track. what's wrong with you people? just because he made hip hop in the past, all mos' albums need to be pure hip hop? still i'm the only one who likes the new album

― [that bastard] jaxon (jaxon), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 02:55 (twenty-one years ago)

i listened to bobs for the first time in a dog's age last month and was pleasantly surprised!

― strng hlkngtn, Wednesday, 25 May 2005 02:59 (twenty-one years ago)

the metal track

C'mon, man, Ford Prefect meets Disaster Area.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 02:59 (twenty-one years ago)

there's some unctuous/smarmy/didactic/insertdelete stuff on there but "hip-hop", "mathematics", "mr. nigga", "ms. fat booty" and a handful of others are classics.

― strng hlkngtn, Wednesday, 25 May 2005 03:00 (twenty-one years ago)

"umi says"!!!

― vahid (vahid), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 03:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't liked Mos in much of anything lately but yeah, BOBS has some great stuff on it. I even like that nike commercial song "umi says." I'm not sure whether i like it more than kweli's first, and I still like the Black Star album. I don't think there was any way either of them could keep it up. (Actually, kweli's second album had its moments too. "Get By," obviously)

― deej., Wednesday, 25 May 2005 03:32 (twenty-one years ago)

haha xp!

― deej., Wednesday, 25 May 2005 03:33 (twenty-one years ago)

the problem with reflection eternal is that it's totally front-loaded: from "move somethin'" to "down for the count", it's totally shit-hot. but then suddenly i don't want to listen anymore, usually when rah digga's voice comes on. i usually skip ahead for the "love language"/"love speakeasy"/"soul rebel" sequence and then turn it off.

meanwhile pretty much everything on black on both sides except for "climb" and "brooklyn" is great.

sure, at least 50% of it falls closer to post-electronica beat music than hip-hop, but whatever. not necessarily a bad thing. i'm perpetually surprised people can get into 88 keys / will.i.am / hitek / jaydee without liking (for example) deep house or downtempo, so much of the production is exactly the same.

― vahid (vahid), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 03:49 (twenty-one years ago)

heh well theo parrish has jacked at least two mos def tunes from this album for mixes i have, so there you go

― strng hlkngtn, Wednesday, 25 May 2005 03:51 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah but the best song on the RE album is the hidden track "For Women"! and "Move Somethin'" is probably my least favorite song on the album. Kweli's lead singles always suck. (xp)

― Al (sitcom), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 03:52 (twenty-one years ago)

wait, there's a hidden track???

― vahid (vahid), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 03:54 (twenty-one years ago)

!!!

― vahid (vahid), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 03:54 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah it's at the end of the last track, "Expansion Outro".

― Al (sitcom), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 03:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Kweli's lead singles always suck

Yeah what's with this? What was that awful song he put out before "get by"? He could have sold so many copies of that 2nd album if he'd put them out in the right order.

― deej., Wednesday, 25 May 2005 04:03 (twenty-one years ago)

black on both sides is unquestionably a classic, but i reflection eternal is soul-stirring music. too bad kweli is sub par live and mos went all common on his last disc.

― the rock n roll nigga (the rock n roll nigga), Wednesday, 25 May 2005 21:09 (twenty-one years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.

TS: Mos Def - Black on Both Sides vs. Talib Kweli - Reflection Eternal