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
Yo Yeah
Black Star Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yo yo yeah yeah
Black is, black is something to laugh about black is something to cry about
Black is serious, black is a feeling, black is us the beautiful people
That was when some of them bad niggas made beauty moving juju change as the drum
Musics hum, Mojo vibrated and high Johns screamed through the bloods to no one
Acted visionaries too dig my people they acted the rhythms pulling there minds
Was one and move move move universe earth spirit firing the soils to destroy
The evil un image cleanse the waste from the cold lands till the cosmos was
Whole again and the worlds had become nude
Three thirty in the morning with not a soul in sight we sat four deep at a traffic light
Talking about how dumb and brainwashed how dumb some of our brothers and sisters are
While we wait for a green light to tell us when to go
In Black Star's song Yo Yeah, the repeated phrase "Yo ye yo ye, Yo yo ye ye" starts the song with a playful energy that contrasts with the weighty subject matter of the black experience. The lyrics explore the complexity and various emotions that blackness embodies. Black is something to laugh about and cry about, serious and a feeling. It is not only individual, but communal, representing "us the beautiful people."
The second half of the song is a narrative that describes a transformative moment in black history. The "bad niggas" (likely referencing Black Panthers or other black liberation groups) perform a ritual with "juju" that changes the beat of the drums and vibrates with "mojo" that "screamed through the bloods." Building on African spirituality, this ritual creates a communal experience where everyone is pulled into the rhythm and moves together as one. This unifying movement goes beyond earthly boundaries, into the universe and cosmos.
Then the song shifts again, back to the present time, where the singers are sitting at a red light in the early morning hours, reflecting on the state of their community. They discuss the ways in which some Black people are "dumb and brainwashed" by the system, waiting for someone else to give them the green light to move forward.
In summary, Yo Yeah by Black Star takes the listener on a journey through the many facets of the Black experience, from individual feelings to communal unity to societal oppression.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo ye yo ye
A repetitive chant to set the tone for the rest of the song
Yo yo ye ye
Continuation of the chant
Black is, black is something to laugh about black is something to cry about
The beauty of blackness is that it encompasses both joy and sadness
Black is serious, black is a feeling, black is us the beautiful people
Blackness is a powerful, emotional force and we, the black community, are resilient and beautiful
That was when some of them bad niggas
Refers to a time when some individuals in the community were making changes
Made beauty moving juju changes the drum
These individuals were using their creativity and spiritual influence to create change
Music hum! Mojo vibrated and high jons screamed
The music was essential to this movement and its energy was felt throughout
Through the bloods to no one
This energy was not exclusively for any one person or group
Hears the blood sounds
The energy created by the movement could be felt and heard
No more folk intercourse's and all the niggas listening
The community was united and listening to each other
Acted visionaries too dig my people
These individuals were visionaries and they inspired others in the community to act as well
They acted the rhythms pulling there minds
They were able to use music and rhythm to create a unity of thought in the community
Was one and move move move universe earth spirit firing
The community was moving as one, guided by a universal, spiritual force
The soils to destroy the evil un image cleanse the waste from the cold lands
The movement was working to cleanse the community of negativity and destructive forces
Till the cosmos was whole again and the worlds had become nude
The hope was that this movement and unity would lead to a renewed sense of wholeness and purity
3:30 in the morning with not a soul in sight we sat four deep at a traffic light
A scene of a late night conversation at a street corner
Talking about how dumb and brainwashed how dumb some of our brothers and sisters are
The conversation focused on the frustration of how some in the community had been brainwashed and lacked understanding
While we wait for a green light to tell us when to go
The group is waiting for a sign or direction on how to move forward as a community
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC., Royalty Network
Written by: Dante Smith, Jason Daniel Rawls, Talib Kweli, JASON RAWLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind