Yasiin Bey is dropping his first solo project in over five years, and it includes production from the legendary Large Professor.
Money Christmas is accompanied by artwork designed by Spanish-Moroccan artist Anuar Khalifi. Titled “Osanta Bin Lyin,” the painting adds to the Black Star MC’s bold political statements by depicting the late 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden in a Santa Claus costume.
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Much like previous projects, the effort will not be released through traditional channels such as streaming services.
On Sunday (December 15), the artist formerly known as Mos Def premiered the project for fans during a livestream and revealed it will soon be available on Bandcamp for $9.99. Video playback from the stream will also be available this week for those who paid to watch the initial stream, and will also be available for purchase.
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The material will also be released on vinyl in the coming months.
You can hear a preview of a Large Professor-produced track, “Condition of Terms,” on the second slide below.
While Money Christmas will end a drought of new solo music from Yasiin Bey, fortunately it doesn’t look like it will be followed by another dry spell.
According to a press release, the project is “the first of a number of upcoming releases intended to inextricably link the acquisition of music to the artwork and supporting video footage, creating a stronger and more creative bond with fans.”
Bey is no stranger to an unorthodox rollout, having released his 2019 album Negus exclusively as a listening experience in museums around the world.
The eight-track, 28-minute project, which has yet to be made commercially available, sought to “acknowledge the importance of Hip Hop as a fundamental American art form […] without the distractions of technology.”
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Similarly, Black Star’s 2022 LP No Fear of Time — the duo’s first full-length offering in over two decades — made its own statement on the value of art by being initially released exclusively through the podcast network Luminary (which hosted Bey, Talib Kweli and Dave Chappelle’s The Midnight Miracle show).
The Madlib-produced album was released on physical formats earlier this year, with a portion of the proceeds going towards global relief efforts.
