Mos Def @ 9:30 Club
By DCist contributor W Jacarl Melton
When Mos Def dropped the mic à la Randy Watson in Coming to America at the conclusion of Saturday’s 9:30 Club show, it was hard to tell if he was just being playful or if it was indicative of sentiments he harbored.
A name like Mos Def, when announced to hip-hop heads or general music aficionados, is bound to create some buzz. This night was no different as the sell-out crowd stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the main floor and nearly the same in the balcony. Opening act Anwar Superstar couldn’t inspire a genuine positive response from attendees unless he uttered Mos’ name or kicked verses from popular rhymes like Pharoahe Monch’s “Simon Says” or Talib Kweli’s “Get By,” As Mos made his entrance two hours after some folks had arrived, the audience was more than receptive.
While out of view, he began singing an ode to the District to the tune of Gil Scott-Heron’s “New York City.” Club denizens began to roar. Sporting a backpack which harkened back to his early days on Rawkus Records, Mos took center stage supported by two DJs and went into tracks from his last two solo projects, New Danger and Tru Magic, as well as some new material from his forthcoming release. Unfortunately, the last albums weren’t as popular as his Black Star or Black On Both Sides recordings and, therefore, left us feeling that the palpable admiration in the air was just for the man and not necessarily the music.
After a nice freestyle over J Dilla’s “The $,” Mos Def asked the crowd if they wanted to hear more of his old material. Unsurprisingly, the answer was an emphatic “yes." He responded with “Ghetto Rock” and followed with songs such as “Hip Hop,” “Definition,” and “Umi Says.”
Interspersed between the “Ghetto Rock” and the show’s closing were assorted breaks, lulls, and, at least on two occasions, requests from the headliner to the audience to quiet down as he worked with the DJs to overcome what seemed to be significant technical mishaps. The performance lags began to take their toll on the crowd as even oldlies-but-goodies like “Brown Skin Lady” faltered at garnering a large scale audience reaction. By the time Mos reached his standard close of “Travellin’ Man” from DJ Honda’s II album, it seemed as though he was at his end after having gone through a lot of material and miscues for an hour and a half.
That said, Mos’ “SEXUAL CHOCOLATE!” declaration upon conclusion was probably more for dramatic affect than anything else. The crowd did seem to appreciate the performance. Still, though, we had a hard time not envisioning the indignant Watson walking off stage, Jheri curl and all.
Photo from Geffen Records