Earlier this year, on a pre-Life of Pablo audio statement posted on Kanye West’s website, Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) announced his impending retirement from hip-hop. However, it seems that the rapper has a lot planned before he bows out of the game for good.
On Art Basel radio in Miami on Saturday, Bey spoke of a duo album with a very different musical force of nature—New Orleans producer-legend Mannie Fresh—and a new solo record. “I will be premiering my new album, Negus In Natural Person, and me and Mannie Fresh’s project, which is called As Promised, at The Apollo on December 21,” Bey said in the interview, according to Okayplayer. He played a few clips of the music as well, including a collaboration with Tame Impala.
At a surprise appearance at Boiler Room and Saul Williams’ “In Appreciation of Lyricism” concert at Art Basel, Bey also premiered some new material, which you can hear in the video below at approximately 5:14:00 (Bey performs parts of the Tame Impala tune).
This comes hot on the heels of Bey’s announcement of an upcoming album with Ferrari Sheppard, Dec 99th. The Apollo show, also announced last month, will reportedly be one of the legendary rapper’s last performances, coming directly before a three-night residency at the Kennedy Center in D.C.. Billboard reports that the rapper is scheduled to perform four of his classic albums—The New Danger, True Magic, The Ecstatic and Black on Both Sides—at all four shows along with the new music he’s just announced.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-w3Iej_RQQs