Thursday Throwback (Part 22) – Black Star

Black Star ft. Common – “Respiration” ( Rawkus / 1998 )

A classic moment from the independent Hip-Hop renaissance of the late-90s that still causes goosebumps today.

Back when Black Star’s self-titled debut album dropped I was involved with UK-based underground Hip-Hop mag FATBOSS – listening to Mos Def and Talib Kweli on cuts such as “Respiration” and “Definition” will always take me back to that time when I felt like every word I wrote about subterranean acts such as The Arsonists, Non-Phixion and Rasco was helping keep the spirit of real Hip-Hop alive in the face of an increasingly shallow and money-driven mainstream rap industry. Ahhh, the good old days.