Ahead of their appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend, Black Star have shared a music video for “So Be It.” It marks the first wide release from the Brooklyn duo’s sophomore effort, No Fear of Time, since the album dropped on the Luminary podcast network in May.
Talib Kweli tells Consequence that “So Be It” was one of the first tracks he and Yasiin Bey (f.k.a. Mos Def) recorded with Madlib for the album, which marked their first full-length in 24 years. “It definitely set the tone of the project early on,” he remembers. “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. This song is a call to action. It’s a prayer. It’s a manifesto.”
Bey immediately gets down to business over an unorthodox, yet head-nodding beat, stacking punchline after punchline while proving he’s still “sharper than a straight razor shave” with lyrics like, “I got the right and exact and a trap for the rats/ The liars and the saps, the posers and the hacks.” Not to be upstaged, Kweli promises to represent the people: “My songs is knowledge to heroes that need honoring/ A promise we demolishing all Confederate monuments.”
The accompanying black-and-white music video captures Black Star performing “So Be It” while also offering a glimpse at their backstage routine. “Our value is in our performance and how we connect with our audience,” Kweli says about the clip. “We wanted to provide a visual that showcases that for the core fans.”
Watch Black Star’s “So Be It” video below.
Kweli also describes the duo’s upcoming debut on SNL as a “career milestone,” adding, “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.”
No Fear of Time arrived more than 20 years after their 1998 classic Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star.