American hip-hop duo Black Star was founded in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1996. Rappers Mos Def (Yasiin Bey) and Talib Kweli make up the pair. Their critically acclaimed debut album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star was released on September 29, 1998. After years of only releasing singles and making appearances on compilations, Black Star released their sophomore studio album No Fear of Time on May 3, 2022, on the podcasting platform Luminary. The group is named after The Black Star Line, a shipping company founded by Marcus Garvey.
They, along with other members of the Native Tongues Posse, helped shape underground alternative rap, bringing it into the mainstream. Rawkus Records, an independent record label based in New York City, was largely responsible for the underground movement of the late 1990s, which gave rise to Black Star. In their subsequent solo ventures, Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli have both achieved greater economic and critical success.
For the Red Hot Organization’s compilation CD Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington, which earned money for various charities devoted to raising AIDS awareness and combating the disease, Black Star performed “Money Jungle” with Ron Carter and John Patton in 2001. The song “Hater Players” was used in The Wire’s “The Cost” episode in 2002. A new Black Star album was reportedly “in the pipeline,” according to Kweli, in 2005, according to the hip-hop website TheSituation.co.uk.
Madlib has indicated that a follow-up album will be completed in November 2019. No Fear of Time would be the album’s name, it was revealed in 2022. On May 3, it was made available only on the podcasting site Luminary.
