The dynamic hip-hop duo Black Star made their Saturday Night Live debut by performing a pair of tracks from their recently released sophomore album, No Fear of Time.
Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) ran through “So Be It” and “The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing.” The late-night appearance not only marked the first time the duo performed music from No Fear of Time on national television, but the first opportunity for the general public to hear the album outside of the Luminary podcast network, where it has lived exclusively since its release earlier this year. Watch the replay below.
Ahead of their appearance on SNL, Black Star premiered the video for “So Be It” exclusively on Consequence. “The song is a lyrical exercise, bars on bars, but we are not rhyming for the sake of riddling, as the great Chuck D might say,” Kweli explained. “This song is a call to action. It’s a prayer. It’s a manifesto.”
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Kweli also noted the significance of Black Star’s slot on SNL, saying, “I can’t recall seeing a more hip-hop, a more independent group than Black Star to ever do SNL, so I’m definitely excited to represent for the culture.”
Black Star will follow up their SNL appearance by playing a headlining show at New York’s Sony Hall on Tuesday, November 15th.
Elsewhere on last night’s SNL, host Dave Chappelle used most of his monologue to discuss Kanye West’s recent dalliance with anti-Semitism.