YASIIN BEY at the Phoenix, Thursday, July 18. Rating: NNN
Mos Def is now Yasiin Bey. It’s a change in more than just name, at least judging by Thursday’s performance at the Phoenix. The last time I caught him in Toronto – alongside Talib Kweli for a Black Star show in 2011 – he was in a slim-cut suit, tie and cap. On Thursday, he emerged in a white Middle Eastern kurta with a snood-like head scarf – perfect for the sweltering humidity – showering the first couple of rows with rose petals.
Some things were the same as last time though – an absurdly late start, 12:45, a half-hour later than his set time, and an absurdly late finish (past 2 am).
But, this is all part of his thing. Even for a famous person, Bey does what he wants. His show is very atypical hip-hop. He sings his own hooks, everything is pared-down (just a couple of beat-makers in the back), there aren’t fancy lights or stage flourishes. You go to a Bey show for the poetry, the flow, the uniqueness and the stubborn artist that he is (he scolded audience members for shouting out song requests, specifically for Mathematics). On all those things, he delivered. And then you just hope for a couple of Mos classics to sing-along to.
At 39, Bey’s been doing this a while, and his showmanship emerged as the set unfolded. He told us he was delivering something “decidedly Canadian” and spat Drake’s The Motto with more gusto and glee than he’d displayed all night. He’s a fan. “That boy’s talented!”
Hard to tell if he’s a Kanye/Jay Z (no hyphen) fan though – cause his Niggas in Poorest (his genius, keeping-it-really-real version of Watch The Throne’s Niggas in Paris), is genius and, live, very cutting. (“Real drugs, my dealer, who the fuck is Margiela? Doctors say I’m the illest, I ain’t got no insurance, I’ts them niggas in poorest, be them rebel guerillas, huh.”)
He gave the Mos Def fanatics the goods in the end, finishing with Life Is Real, Travellin’ Man and one of the prettiest hip-hop songs of the 90s, Umi Says, from his classic Black on Both Sides album.
If you’re into it – you know, late starts, a cappella rhymes, conscious songs, pretty rap) – Yasiin Bey Presents should drop sometime in the near-like future and there’s that oft-rumoured follow-up to Black Star’s only album. S0, Bey will be back. Just don’t ask for Mathematics.
