Mos Def is currently healed up in a recording studio hard at work on the debut album from his new rock band, Jack Johnson. The band’s all-star lineup includes Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell, In Living Color drummer Will Calhoun, bassist Doug Winbush, and Bad Brains guitarist Dr. Know.
The album has made some people wonder why Mos Def would embrace an all out rock project. When the Black Star rapper debuted his band at a Lyricist Lounge Vol. 2 show in New York last December, many fans were clearly perplexed by the new sound. Despite some people’s bewilderment, Mos’ Black Star partner Talib Kweli said that the Blackstar partner has always gone against the grain.
“I think Mos Def is a leader. Throughout his career, he has made moves that people told him he shouldn’t make, like when he stopped acting to do hip-hop,” Kweli stated. “He could have had an acting career and then he said, ‘fuck that I’m a do underground hip-hop’ and people said, ‘you’re crazy.’ “Then when his career’s about to explode, Mos says, ‘well I wanna do this Black Star project with Kweli. And people was like, ‘you’re crazy, who the fuck is Kweli? Why you gonna waste your time doing that?’ Now that he’s doing this rock project, a lotta people are criticizing him, but he’s gonna win because Mos Def knows music, and when it comes out, people are gonna be on his jock again, because he’s a leader, and in order to be a leader, you have to take risks and chances.”
Jack Johnson’s debut album is scheduled to drop sometime this summer.
