Black Star arose from the underground movement of the late 1990s, which was in large part due to Rawkus Records, an independent record label stationed in New York City, NY, USA. They released their self titled debut album in 1998. Though the record achieved little commercial success, they (and other members of the Native Tongues Posse) helped shape underground alternative rap and helped bring it further into the mainstream eye. Both have gone on to greater commercial and critical success in separate solo careers.
A sample on the album from the film Chameleon Street has generated the often repeated and often misattributed quote, "I'm a victim brother. I'm a victim of 400 years of conditioning. The man has programmed my conditioning. Even my conditioning has been conditioned!"
Most recently Mos and Kweli appeared together in the movie Dave Chappelle's Block Party, alongside Jill Scott, Dead Prez and The Fugees, among others. They even contributed a new song, "Born & Raised", to the movie's soundtrack.
In November 2009, members and collaborators of Black Star released a collaboration album with the alt-blues/rock band, The Black Keys, under the title "The Blakroc Project." Project members included RZA, Jim Jones, Mos Def, Q-Tip, and others.
According to hip hop website TheSituation.co.uk, Kweli has said that a new Black Star album is "in the pipeline". On Talib Kweli's Myspace he posted up a video saying that "We're going to find Mos Def and put it on camera that there will be a second Black Star album. Black Star released their second album titled entitled No Fear of Time in 2022.
Discography
===========
Albums
Black Star (1998)
No Fear of Time (2022)
The Blakroc Project (2009) Collaborative album with The Black Keys
Singles
"Definition"(1998)
"Respiration" (1999)
Other collaborations
"Know That" from Mos Def's 1999 album, Black on Both Sides
"Joy" from Talib Kweli's 2002 album, Quality
"Supreme Supreme" from Talib Kweli's 2005 album, Right About Now
"Bright as the Stars" from Mos Def's 2005 single, "Ah Ha"
"What It Is" from Talib Kweli's 2005 mixtape, The Beautiful Mixtape Vol. 2
"Born & Raised" from the 2006 soundtrack, Dave Chappelle's Block Party
"This Means You", produced by DJ Hi-Tek on the album Train Of Thought
"What's Beef", live from Chappelle's Show
"Get By [remix]", from Kanye West's mixtape Freshman Adjustment 3
"Gitcha, Gitcha, Gitcha", from Talib Kweli's 2004 album The Beautiful Struggle
"Little Brother", The Hurricane
"History" from Mos Def's 2009 album The Ecstatic.
There is another band with the same name:
2) A dark rock band, formed in Jakarta, Indonesia (2000), based on the common taste of its members, Emir (vocal), Aloel (guitar), Yudi (guitar), Q-nos (bass), Ine (keyboard) and Roby (drum). They had always adored british bands such as Radiohead and Muse, and started playing to cover their music. The name "Black Star" itself was taken from a track in Radihead's album, The Bends.
In 2005, they started recording their own material. Swiftly they gained attention of indie music community and acquired got good reviews by the media, especially for their single "Schizofrenia". Their long-anticipated debut album has been released in March 2009. The first single from the album, Abnormal Aku, in collaboration with Cholil Mahmud from Efek Rumah Kaca, was a huge success in local indie scene. The album has a theme of diseases, from biological, social to psychological diseases. This shows the empathy from the band towards their surrounding envronment.
Their second album, titled "Luar Angkasa", was released on 14th February 2016 with Demajors Independent Music Industry (DIMI).
Free tracks can be downloaded at their offical website, http://www.blackstarid.com.
Buy their album at http://cdbaby.com/cd/blackstarpop
Astronomy
Black Star Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Appears a curious celestial phenomena
Called Black Star, but what is it?
Black people unite and let's all get down
We got to have what? We got to have that love
What is the Black Star?
Is it shining from very far, to where you are?
It is commonplace and different
Intimate and distant
Fresher than an infant
Black, my family thick, like they're striped molasses
Star, on the rise, in the eyes of the masses
Black is the color of my true love's hair
Star's are bright, shining, hot balls of air
Black like my baby girl's stare
Black like the veil that the muslimina wear
Black like the planet that they fear, why they scared?
Black like the slave ship that later brought us here
Black like the cheeks that are roadways for tears
That leave black faces well traveled with years
Black like assassin cross hairs
Blacker than my granddaddy armchair
He never really got no time to chill there
Cause this life is warfare, warfare
Deep on the front lines, and blacks is all there
Black like the perception of who, on welfare
Black like faces at the bottom of the well
I've been there before
To bring the light and heat it up like "la cocina"
Make without imagine happen but maybe I'm just a dreamer
I love rockin' tracks like John Coltrane love Naema
Like the student love the teacher
Like the prophet love Khadeja
Like I love my baby features
Like the creator love all creatures
Who acknowledge truth and peace seekers
We on point like heat seekers
Targeting the black marketing strategists
Run up on 'em with the heaters
Everybody following with no leaders
Feeling like we killing ourselves
Because I know they can't defeat us
It don't stop 'til we complete this, keep this fly
There's so much to life when you just stay Black and God
Blacker than the nighttime sky of BedStuy in July
Blacker than the seed in the blackberry pie
Blacker than the middle of my eye
Black like feh-lah man cry
Some man wan ask "Who am I?"
I simply reply, "The U-N-I, V-E-R-S-A-L Magnetic"
Work to respect the angelic, climb the mountaintop
And tell it 'til the valley's enveloped
You're full of big chat but you nah know me
I'm dark like the side of the moon you don't see
When the moon shine newly
You know who else is a Black Star? (Who?) Me
You know who else is a Black Star? (Who?) Me
You know who else is a Black Star, who we? (And we)
Be shining and shining, when we rhyming and rhyming
We be shining and shining, when we rhyming and rhyming
Now everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
The 8th Light, is gonna shine bright tonight
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
You know the light
Go from the dark
The other way is ass-backwards
It's absurd
Make you want to crow like a blackbird
That's right
You living from your first day to your last night
Sometimes you show your ass like
Lint on your clothes
When you froze in
The black light
Dead that
Before you get your head wrapped
Like Badu
We see through your voodoo
Just like Eve's Bayou, you dealing with that black magic
Try to civilize you
Not walk on by you
Like civil-(lies do get you black listed) it'll
Be unlucky for you like a black cat
A panther
Revolution is the answer
That's what we need
Greed plague my people like the cancer
True indeed
Now black people unite, and let's all get down
Now everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
The 8th Light, is gonna shine bright tonight
Everybody hop on the one, the sounds of the two
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
The 8th Light, is gonna shine bright tonight
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
Equaling up to eight, light shine bright
The song "Astronomy (8th Light)" by Black Star is an ode to blackness and the beauty and diversity of black culture. Mos Def and Talib Kweli, the members of Black Star, use astronomy as an extended metaphor, exploring what they believe the Black Star to be, its significance, and its place in the world. The song begins with the mystery surrounding the Black Star, an astronomical phenomenon that appears against the canvas of the night sky. The artists look at blackness from various angles, highlighting its commonality and difference, its intimacy and distance, its freshness and agelessness.
The song goes on to look at blackness in various aspects of life, from love to slavery and oppression. The lyrics reflect on various dark-skinned things, including black people, black shades, black cars, black planets, black faces, blackberry pies, and the side of the moon you don't see. Mos Def and Talib Kweli use these images to convey the complexity and depth of blackness and its relationship to the world. They acknowledge the struggles that black people face, both historically and contemporarily, but also celebrate their resilience and strength.
Line by Line Meaning
Against the canvas of the night
A curious celestial phenomena named Black Star appears against the dark sky
Called Black Star, but what is it?
The song asks what exactly Black Star is
Black people unite and let's all get down
The song calls for black people to come together and show love and unity
We got to have what? We got to have that love
The song emphasizes the importance of love in the black community
Is it the cat with the black shades, the black car?
The song wonders if Black Star is a person or object that exudes coolness or power
Is it shining from very far, to where you are?
The song wonders if Black Star's influence extends far beyond where one is located
It is commonplace and different
Intimate and distant
Fresher than an infant
The song describes Black Star as an entity that exists in various forms - common yet unique, close yet far away, and new like a newborn baby
Black, my family thick, like they're striped molasses
The song compares the thickness and closeness of the black community to the rich and dense texture of striped molasses
Star, on the rise, in the eyes of the masses
The song sees Black Star as something that is gaining popularity and influence among the masses
It's the third eye vision, five side dimension
The song references the third eye and describes Black Star as a multidimensional entity that holds deeper meaning beyond the physical world
Black like the planet that they fear, why they scared?
Black like the slave ship that later brought us here
The song associates Blackness with fear, oppression, and the legacy of slavery that brought many black people to America
Blacker than the nighttime sky of BedStuy in July
Blacker than the seed in the blackberry pie
The song compares Blackness to darkness, and describes it as very dark like the sky in a specific area in Brooklyn during summer or the seed in a blackberry pie
Blacker than the middle of my eye
The song describes Blackness as a deep and intense feeling, like the darkness at the center of the eye
Black like feh-lah man cry
The song associates Blackness with the emotions and pain expressed by someone crying in Jamaican Patois
You know who else is a Black Star? Me
And we be shining and shining, when we rhyming and rhyming
The song suggests that anyone can be a Black Star, and when they create and express themselves, they shine and stand out
Revolution is the answer
That's what we need
The song advocates for revolution and change as the solution to the problems that plague black people
Greed plague my people like the cancer
True indeed
The song acknowledges the negative impact of greed on the black community
The 8th Light, is gonna shine bright tonight
The song references an eighth light that is going to shine bright, possibly symbolizing hope or change
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network
Written by: D Dewgarde, Dante Smith, E Dewgarde, Talib Kweli
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind