Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def performs at Rams Head Live on Friday, March 1, 2013 in Baltimore, MD.
Yasiin Bey a.k.a Mos Def, made a stop at Rams Head Live on Friday, March 1, 2013 in Baltimore, MD. Brooklyn’s own renaissance man is currently touring throughout the United States before heading overseas to do a number of shows. It is unknown if a new album is in store. There were unconfirmed reports that he would be teaming up with Talib Kweli once again to record another Black Star project. That rumor was put to rest recently during an interview that Talib Kweli did with Rolling Stone magazine. Currently, there are no plans for a Black Star album.
Yasiin Bey’s most recent album, “The Ecstatic”, was released in 2009. Since then he has released several new singles and has been working on his “Top 40 Underdog Series” where he raps over a beat of a top 40 song. As always, Yasiin Bey pushes the envelope on record and on stage. His performance at Rams Head Live was no different.
After opening act Watch the Duck finished their set, Yasiin Bey walked on stage to introduce an up and coming artist from Brooklyn (could not catch his name). The artist performed four songs and received a warm reception from the crowd on hand before wrapping up.
With his trademark red microphone in hand, and the red stage lights filling the room, Yasiin Bey took the stage around 10:40 p.m. backed by two DJ’s. He then launched right into Casa Bey, the closing track from his most recent album “The Ecstatic”.
From there, it was hard to keep track of where he was going next. Like he does during many of his shows, Yasiin Bey mixed up his set between original songs, covers, and remixes of original songs. Very similar to what The Roots do during their shows. I think by doing this he keeps his shows fresh and unpredictable, especially when he performs with a live band.
However, it was obvious that this was some concert goers first time seeing Yasiin Bay live and they were expecting a standard set of his most popular songs. This is understandable if you are not familiar with how the Brooklyn MC puts his show together. With that said, the majority of the crowd went a long for the ride and enjoyed an outstanding show. Yasiin Bey gave the crowd their moneys worth and rocked the stage.
Enjoy the photos!
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Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def at Rams Head Live – Images by Anthony Washington
