Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kweli (1998)

a run through four decades of the hip hop underground

Two up-and-coming NYC lyricists teamed up for a shotgun blast of what was coming in east coast hip hop. This record was ground zero for the more rap-centric end of the turn of the century soulquarian neo-soul movement.

While there would be a reunion album 20 years later, this was the only record the two of them put out in this era. Mos Def would drop several classic albums over the next decade plus, though he lately goes by Yasiin Bey and isn’t involved with music aside from the occasional feature. Kweli, on the other hand, has released a string of high quality soul-inflected hip hop as both a solo artist anda collaborator.