MOS DEF - True Magic / Tru3 Magic - 2006 - Album review

Where's my proper bastard album cover Mr Geffen?

MOS DEF: True Magic a.k.a. Tru3 Magic (2006) Album review
HIGHLIGHTS: Undeniable / A-Ha/ Napoleon Dynamite/ Sun, Moon, Stars
SOUNDBITE: That Mr President's a natural ass/ He out treating niggers worse than they treat the trash/
RATING: 4/5
I dunno about truth or magic – there's certainly a lot of weirdness surrounding Mos Def's third solo LP. How did a label like Geffen make such a giant pig's ass of a major hip-hop artist's release? Putting out a record somewhere between the middle of December and middle of January (depending on which source you believe) isn't good business sense and the clear plastic sleeve and absence of liner notes smacks more of cheapness than being calculatedly enigmatic for marketing purposes - especially given the absence of other publicity. Or was this revenge because – according to rumour – Mos wants off the label? Fuck knows. As for the record itself – Mos has been vigorously spanked halfway across cyberspace and back by a legion of pundits seemingly because this record isn't Black On Both Sides again. It is true that the politics are a little less in your face on this LP but complaints that they've been shelved completely are somewhat under-cooked especially in the light of Dollar Day's addressing of the U.S. government's balls-up of pretty much anything it's tackled in recent years. There's a slightly broader range of styles on this album than Black on Both Sides - maybe partly because there were at least seven producers (including Pharrell and Mos himself) who worked on this - but does that make it less cohesive? It's a half empty / half-full call but I'd go with the second. This is a decent LP, none of the production is bad, some of it is very good and the evidence is there for all to hear. Mos' voice is as soulful as ever, though, admittedly, on second track Undeniable his rapping isn't particularly insightful. But then, do hip-hop tracks always have to be political firestarters? In any case – I'm sorry - but that fat b-line and mournful wah-wah loop sound wicked. I've heard complaints that loops on this and several other tracks on the LP have been – ooh scandalous – used before by other rappers! that'll be the first time that's ever happened then. Napoleon Dynamite is one of those other tracks and yes part of the sample was used on a Capital D / Molemen collab. about five years ago anal geeks – which in no way detracts from its re-usage here. The presence of A-Ha on the LP does give some credence to the 'contractural obligations' crowd as it was originally released at least two years ago as a twelve inch – but then I liked it's sleazy synths and insectoid hi-hat the first time round and I can live with the 'own trumpet' lyrics. And don't forget the sinuous highlight of the latter half of the LP Sun, Moon, Stars dominated by a massive Revolution-Will-Not-Be-Televised-alike bass groove. Whatever the circumstances of it's creation, the plain truth is actually that, while it's not the second coming, True Magic is far from second rate.
Out now. If you can find it anywhere.
Listen to Mos Def - True Magic / Tru3 Magic