grandpa_riot's Full Review: The New Danger [PA] by Mos Def
It began when I was sitting on a bus, curled up in a seat, on my way to a friend's house. I was in my own little world, with a small messenger bag on my lap and my headphones blocking out all outside noises. I was perfect. My eyes were closed as I nodded my head to the rhythm of a song on Mos Def's The New Danger. I wasn't even on the bouncy city bus anymore; I was on the bus to paradise.
Suddenly my eyes opened, and everything else vanished. A boy about my age (or probably older than me) was staring at me as if I had gone insane before his very eyes. It was at this time that I realized who I was. I thin 15-year-old boy with red hair and glasses. I then realized that the volume on my Discman was far too high, and that everybody on the bus probably heard my listening selection clearly. I turned off the player and sat there embarrassed. How did this happen to me? This isn't what I do! Something has gone horribly wrong, right?
Then, something comes to me. A write-off of some sort. MattA75. An exchange of albums, and a review to come at the end of the listening adventures. Partnered up with speeddemon531, I was given Mos Def's The New Danger, an album that I can probably guarantee I would not be exposed to any other way. And then it all made sense again.
Mos Def's The New Danger is the perfect example of why I love MattA75's "I'll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours" write-off. I'm exposed to something completely different than what I'm used to listening to (the album that I exchanged was the Pixies' Surfer Rosa). I'm also paired up with a reviewer that I'm not really all too familiar with. And then I also get the realization that the reviewer is far superior to me (both in writing skills and in age), and I feel almost embarrassed to have to write a review in their presence (it happened last year, too). Lucky enough for me, it became a lot easier for me when I actually liked the album.
As scared as I was when I chose (yes, out of three choices, I chose the one I was most unfamiliar with) The New Danger, I was very much surprised when I first popped in the album. I did know it was going to be different (Mike told me that it included "blues, rock, soul filtered through hip-hop", and used the words "challenging listen", but I wasn't sure how far to take it), but I figured the differences would be slight. However, The New Danger is full of flowy hip-hop with heavy guitar chords in the background, bluesy vocals with amazing blues guitar solos the backtrack, and some beautiful, soulful tracks. At times it can be quite experimental, but this only adds to how interesting the album is to discover.
"Boogie Man Song" opens wonderfully with a light beat playing and a piano beginning to come in, as well as some humming and mumbling. "What it is, what it is". Then the singing begins. The singing is wonderful and has a dreamy feel, since Def's vocals are light and nicely repeating themselves. It's a short little intro to the album, but it still manages to be one of my favorite songs on the album.
The album gets mixed into a blender instantly with a funk-rock instrumental with the occasional vocals ("Yeah" and "Uh") from Mos Def. The chorus is a dose of power chords, and it is done in the right way where it doesn't become nauseating, which I like. It is then followed by another rock-mixed song, "Ghetto Rock". A short, funky guitar riff opens the song. However, when it kicks in, it's becomes a full on hip-hop song. Even though I could be considered one of the worst people you can have to review hip-hop, I'll tell you that the song features good flow and rhymes. In fact, it's quite refreshing, considering I'm tired of hearing (and am practically drowned in) the horrible rhymes and wannabe songs on mainstream radio, and I was very much relieved to see some good songwriting on this album.
"Ghetto Rock": "Because the - high is high and the low is low
And that goes for the sinner man to holy folks
Put your shit in the sky like I know you - oh
Ha, my ghetto nation get toe to toe
Stay rocking steady steady 'cause I told you so
And after y'all get it go I let it go some more
That Black Jack about something f'sho-f'sho"
The funk-rock songs do become a little much after a while ("Zimzallabim"), I'll admit, but they are saved by "Black Jack", a simple little blues song (simple as in you can hear the guitar and sing "I've got the blues" along with it). The melody goes along with in a catchy way, and the chorus is a chanty, pleasing moaning of, "Hey Hey Hey Hey". At the end, when the chorus starts trailing off, you can hear amazing blues guitar solos in the background. Then it's complete.
Although I find myself enjoying myself during a lot of the songs, some songs just don't get to me the same way. Like I like the vocal section in both "Bedstuy Parade" and "Sex, Love, and Money", but the music in the background aren't really as appealing to me. They make the songs less listenable, and the songs last for 4 minutes, so it's not a slight affair. However, both of these songs are followed by "Sunshine", one with great music. It is opened with (and interwoven with throughout) a sample of "Let the Sun Shine in" from the musical Hair. This adds to level of coolness of the song, as well as improving upon the tone that the song is going for. This is how sampling is supposed to be done. It's perfect.
A lot of the songs toward the middle-end become hit and miss. "Close Edge" and "War" are a little plain to me, if not a little annoying at times. However, "The Panties" gives a nice, simple piece of hip-hop that lightens up a lot of the atmosphere of the album. "Grown Man Business" is slightly better than the mediocre songs on the album, and it might just because I enjoy the sound of the lyrics going with the particular background music.
"Modern Marvel" is probably the most important song on the album. And, hell, it know it. It's 9 minutes and 21 seconds. And I'm not going to lie and act like each second of this song is genius. However, the song is still listenable at 9:21, and it's an incredible song, too. The song works as a modern day response to Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" in many ways. It even starts off with an extended sampling of Gaye's squealing from the song, as Mos Def sings a little piece for a few minutes. It's meant to be long. As the song picks up, it starts to gain in momentum and power. "This life." Mos Def then begins comparing Marvin's lyrics to the modern world, including the "Mother, mother" and "brother, brother". However, the most touching part of the song (in a more aggressive way, of course) is when Def wonders about what Marvin would think about the world today (decades after he wrote "What's Going On", about the same things going on today). It's really a terrific piece of work.
"Modern Marvel": "If Marvin was alive now, wow..
What would I say to him?
Where could I start?
How could I explain to him??
I know the minor world would probably look strange to him
Would he feel like today had a place for him?
Global imprisonment, sickness, indifference
When he said, 'Save the babies,' was we listenin?
When he said, 'Mercy, mercy,' did he really know..
That decades later we'd still be killin folks?"
I like the funky music that plays along with "Life is Real", but the repetitiveness of the song becomes a little unnecessary, and takes away from the song. It's not horrible, but it just gets annoying, which is enough for the occasional skip. "The Easy Spell" is a nice, fast piece of flowing hip-hop. I like the simple chorus of "y-e-a, yea, you can get it". The closing song of "Champion Requiem" is a bit of a disappointment because it just feels like another of the "take it or leave it" tracks that are scattered about this album. This is an album that needs a killer ending, and it just didn't get one.
When all is said and done, The New Danger is an album that's flawed in two ways. It's either too experimental or not experimental enough. That is, it's either trying too hard to do something or it's not trying hard enough, thus creating a generic song. There is some five-star material on this album, but at times it's drowned out by the lesser endeavors. It's an album that's pure genius at some times, and just "whatever" at other times.
I really do like The New Danger a lot. Don't let the three-star rating fool you. This is a really good and interesting album. The really good stuff on this album is enough for me to recommend it. Mos Def has gained higher level on my opinion hierarchy, and I'm more familiar with his music career (I've seen him in quite a few movies). It's just that I can't give away a four-star rating because I loved a lot of stuff on here. The album is 18 tracks long, 75 minutes, and a lot of it is tiring.
If you're interested in a different approach to the hip-hop genre, Mos Def's The New Danger is an excellent choice. It's filled with great variety in the background music, great lyrics and flow, and a lot of weird things all over the place. If you can take the length and the experimentation, you won't be let down. Just don't let the lesser tracks take control of your opinion of the album. Don't forget those better times on the album. And don't forget to pick this one up.
When the bus pulled to a stop, I forgot that I had been riding on a bus the entire time. I threw my Discman into my bag and jumped off the bus, and back into what I thought was my life.
The New Danger- Mos Def
1. Boogie Man Song
2. Freaky Black
3. Ghetto Rock
4. Zimzallabim
5. The Rape Over
6. Black Jack
7. Bedstuy Parade
8. Sex, Love, & Money
9. Sunshine
10. Close Edge
11. The Panties
12. War
13. Grown Man Business
14. Modern Marvel
15. Life is Real
16. The Easy Spell
17. The Beggar
18. Champion Requiem
3.3 stars (rounded down for the filler tracks)
-Jon. grandpa_riot
This review was an entry in MattA75's "I'll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours" write-off. In the write-off, you swap CDs to reviews with another member of the website. It's quite fun, and I can't wait to do it again. As mentioned before, I was partnered with Speeddemon531, and he reviewed the Pixies' Surfer Rosa. Check out MattA75's profile for more information on the write-off and the other entries.
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