Mos Def

Mos Def is one of the most lyrically talented MC's of this generation. If you're looking for a spiritual experience, you need to see this MC in person. Mos Def doesn't rely on antics or lame gimmicks for his musical performances. It's just him on the stage rocking the mic, spitting lyrics ferociously.

I saw him live August 2012, will never forget nor regret that experience. He came out wearing completely unassuming clothes: white shirt, white pants, a gray jacket and a red cap. The background was black almost like we were in a big black box theater, and he just stood there, walked from right to left of the stage and rapped. I've always loved Mos Def, but there was something so alive about his performance. He's a humble man who loves rapping and loves rocking to beat.

One point during the night, he stopped the beat and started spitting Biggie's "It Was All A Dream" with the audience. It was crazy just to see him drop those sick lyrics, then transition into a new beat. It was just crazy how his innate sense of beat and lyric. He's not one of those wack rappers who raps to makes money. He raps because he loves it and because he believes in the power of lyricism. That's the best reason to go see him live. I never got that about him until I saw him speak with such truth and vitality.

He was feeling the music and that made me feel the music when I was watching him. I had my hands up in the air the entire time!!! An hour in, this dude was still dancing and rapping like crazy. Around the end of the show he danced for five minutes and I was dancing with him because I felt that energy. I never wanted him to stop.

A show for the hip hop beat purists, Madlib maniacs and Dilla disciples, this was NOT a Mos Def concert, much to the chagrin of a few confused fans around me.

This was Yassin Bey flowing and riffing over the beats that he loved as if he was simply dancing around his living room and we just happened to catch a glimpse through the window.

And he said as much during the show too, with comments like, "I'm glad y'all are here, but this is a moment between me and God," and "I think only musicians can truly appreciate music the way I'm feeling this right now."

If you listened closely and knew the lyrics well enough, you could tell that he was flowing and singing his own classic lyrics over the beats, but since he was so brilliantly ad-libbing with the tempo, rhythm and flow, it was tough to recognize at times.

Personally, I was in heaven. I could listen to Dilla beats for the rest of my life on loop and I've done exactly what Yassin was doing on my own living room on several occasions.

The performance was full of his signature echoing soul shouts and no shortage of dancing. There was even a brief cameo by his Blackstar partner Talib Kweli. And since the room was filled with people who loved all the music from that era, it was warmly received for the most part. I do wish it wasn't a seated event though, but I didn't catch any flack for dancing in the balcony, so it was all good.

Loved it, but future fans will do well to really know what they're getting into.

Yasiin Bey better known by his former stage name Mos Def is a sitcom actor turned rapper so obviously having experience in acting and performing he simply oozes confidence whilst playing onstage. The artist is incredibly switched on to hip hop as a greater entity and pays tribute to a number of influencers and important artists throughout the evening with covers that he had reworked and developed in his own way. He has been on the road for over fifteen years so he knows how to innovative with ease. Mos Def is also an incredibly passionate speaker and shares his views on issues such as police brutality and political causes with a huge amount of integrity.

It drills in the fact these kinds of issues have affected the way in which he writes music when he performs 'Spread Love Every Day' and 'Cream of the Planet'. The whole audience are responsive throughout as Mos asks them to raise their hands for 'Umi Says' before closing a slick show with 'Travelin' Man' an obvious favourite which receives perhaps the largest cheer of the evening.

Shambolic. Mos Def is a great rapper but this show was all over the place. He showed up an hour late and clearly hadn't practiced with the DJ on the decks. Lots of songs were aborted after a few seconds which is kind of a hip hop thing but, this time, it seemed more a sign of the lack of preparation than anything else. When I bought tickets for this show in October, it was supposed to be Mos Def with The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. No sign of them last night. And what was the original postponement all about? A passport issue? What does that mean? I love his music and on a few brief occasions last night he was rocking the place. But it was a really sad way for him to say goodbye to London as he retires. A real shame.

Yasmin Bey is the quintessential bright light from a distance he is innovative in his craft I got to witness his jazzy melodic wordsmitharie in Oct 2019 in the front row center of the stage it was hypnotic and humbling experience I even received a yellow rose as the show began to end I was entranced by his brilliance my soul is at peace I enjoyed Yasiin Bey immensely I will be forever evolving because I got to share space and time with such a dynamic soul from the ionosphere of the universe it's all connected singed your resident ultimate Yasiin Bey lover

Yasiin Bey was awesome! The doors opened at 8pm and he did not get on stage until 11:30 pm and performed until 12:47 am. I did not think that was cool. But hey, he is a Sagittarius. His stage presence was good. He gave off a good spirit! He seemed to really enjoy himself and the love/response from the crowd! He also seemed sincere about his appreciation for us coming to see him perform! Thank you Yasiin Bey! Chicago loves you!

Ase,

Bridgettte

EXCELLENT.
Yasiin Bey and his band are pure, cool, laid back, human and humble.
It was an amazing experience, the crowd loved it. So much warmth and love all around.
And on the screen in the backdrop was the word and permanent reminder, ALLAH, with an interesting mixture of footage that I'll let everyone enjoy for themselves without spoiling it.
Wonderful evening!

It was cancelled with 6 hrs before showtime, absolute disgrace!!!
Just as the previous cancelled Friday show, too short notice!
Waste of everyone's time and money yet again, people won't get money back for travel, hotels etc., what about all the people who have tickets and can't make rearranged dates!
Absolute Joke man.
Not Happy at all.

Sound on the upper rows was pretty poor, just heard some bass and lots of Mos def shouting/rapping so treble I guess. Songs at the end of the concert were much better than the first few and I think Mos def could have asked for more crowd participation on his last gig in the UK. Overall, a bit disappointed and couldn't dance on the top rows

Very disappointed. One hour of "concert". Always interrupting his tracks, blablabal talking a lot, back to singing and then again, ranting and talking. Compared with his show of 3 years ago in Milan, this one was very bad..considering the fact that he even can :(