Trackmasters: Mos Def "Auditorium" Feat. Slick Rick

OKAY!  So when Mos Def and Slick Rick aren't rapping into the wrong side of the mic they are pretty good at rapping.  I'm not saying that they ever did that but ....actually, if they did end up rapping into the wrong side of the mic it would probably be better then everyone else ever. So there. This is a song with both of them and it's DOOOPPPEPEPEPEPEPPE PHAT. (Yep. Phat! 1994 or something.)

"Auditorium"



I think this song really covers how I feel about Mos Def and Slick Rick! To start, I would call myself a Mos Def fan even though I haven't bought any of his music lately. "That's not much of a fan" you say. Well, whatever, I'll give you that one. I'm not much of a fan, I just appreciate his skill and raps sometimes but I get tired of something about him but I'm not sure what. Insightful!!! Much respect to Mos Def!!!

As for Slick Rick, I have bought every one of his albums since forever! When I transitioned from a tape deck in my car to a CD player I replaced some of my Slick Rick tapes with their CD version. So I bought them twice, $$$$$ for Slick Rick (more like $$.$$). I really like Slick Rick! He's very good (even when he shows up on an Outkast album where he is definitely out of place but still does a good job).

So this song! Let's get to it!

Well this is just the kind of beat that Mos flows best on. It's his album after all. Now, is it just me or does Mos Def say "what it is" a lot, I mean not just in this song, but in every song? You tell me. So the beat is decent, kind of laid back but still forms a nice groove. Actually, I'll go ahead and call the beat ill, and the breakdown in the middle is straight dope. I mean it makes me want to put down the mouse and try to produce a dope beat (which I have no idea how to do...how do people do that?).

So after an ill transition Slick Rick comes in with one of his patented story raps and the dude kills it. It's like the beat was built for him and his odd voice and flow. It's dope, Rick has mad skillz. Phat. It's about a soldier in Iraq and it's really the rhyme skill that sells it, plus the mad veteran flow and his mad ingenuous back-and-forth between Rick and Rick using a kids voice. There's something about a kid caring laundry, and everyone hates the soldiers over there, then some mad disrespect, whatever. Then Slick Rick hears some "Middle Eastern instruments" so he busts some raps and becomes the next "Elvis of Baghdad". Cool. Just a cool song and Slick Rick is still the Ruler. Much Respect.

Well Mos Def got sonned, that's what you get when you feature a king on your album.

SCORE 10/10

The Ruler #SALUTE.