Black Jack Johnson: NYC, R-O-C-K-I-N-G.

For those of you who enjoy non-pop hip hop, or are interested in a wildly eclectic mix of sounds, styles and lyrics, might I heartily recommend Mos Def's sophomore solo album: The New Danger.

This is the first (and only) CD I have bought in the past 2 years for myself, largely in part because I feel like hardly any other new releases have been worth purchasing. However, this album is well worth the $13.99.

Each time I listen to this CD it gets better. The beats are intricate, the sounds is explosive and experimental, and the lyrics... well if you haven't experienced Mos Def's lyrical poetry yet, get up from your computer, go to Best Buy, and pick up Black on Both Sides and his album with Talib Kweli entitled Blackstar. Do it, do it now.

Anyway, this is a pretty big departure from Black on Both Sides, which is of course hailed as one of the quintessential hip hop classics. The New Danger is a blend of rap, blues, jazz, soul and heavy metal. Yes, I said heavy metal. Most of the album is recorded with Mos Def's rock band Black Jack Johnson. In fact, the album was originally slated to be titled "Black Jack Johnson" but then the other Jack Johnson blew up with some recycled mediocre pop garbage and so the title was scrapped.

I, however, prefer my Jack Johnson in Black.