[rating=3.00]
The Mighty Mos strikes again with his latest full length solo effort, True Magic. And there are quite a few tracks here that are in fact, magically delicious. The first of which is “Undeniable,” which comes at you after wading through the anti-climactic, synth-heavy, introductory title track. “Undeniable,” is pure heat with Mos dropping an intense barrage of meticulous rhymes over a heavy wah guitar hook and simple, but jazzy beat. “Crime & Medicine” comes soon after, finding Mos covering Gza from the Wu Tang’s classic “Liquid Swords.” Def rolls right through his interpretation of the track with his signature smooth flow and intelligent rhymes—definitely the highlight of the album. Towards the tail-end of True Magic, one more amazing cut entitled “Sun, Moon, and Stars” rises to the surface, featuring more harmonic vocals, horns, and funky live drums. But with way too many questionable tracks between the truly magical gems, Mos Def’s True Magic falls a bit short of his more impressive works like Black Star or Black on Both Sides. Yet even with a few bumps in the road, there is easily more than enough substance to appease fans of the self-proclaimed “Black Boogie Man.”
