Hip-Hop as Art: Why Mos Def's "Love" Is the Greatest Hip-Hop Song Ever Made

I've pondered this for a while.

What is the best hip-hop track ever made? For years, I'd have told you that Nas' "The World is Yours" held that title: Nas's sharp street narratives and his majestic flow are a treat to listen to, but Pete Rock's beat pushes it to classic status. That hypnotic piano loop? Just a pleasure to the ears. In recent times, however, I've changed my opinion. About year ago, while my wife was at work, I put aside my MP3 player and decided to play some of my CDs on the computer; after about an hour of listening to A Tribe Called Quest's "The Low End Theory," I dug up Mos Def's "Black on Both Sides." It's one of the few albums that I'll listen to from start to finish. "Hip-Hop" had just playing through the speakers, and "Love"--which I had usually considered one of the album's slower moments--began to play. I listened to the words, and after the song finished, I played the song back.

And then I did it again. And again. Four consecutive times, I listened to "Love," and was floored. It was the first time that I truly appreciated the track for what it was: Mos Def's love letter to hip-hop. Throughout, he professes his love for the music, first giving his love context by illustrating the relationship his parents had for one another:

My pops said he was in love when he made me
Thought about it for a second wasn't hard to see
I could hear he was sincere was a game of promotion
The entire affair's probably charged wit emotion
But love call your heart, I guess you got to persue
12-11-73 my life is testament
Praise the beneficent, element that rest......

These lines lay the groundwork for the entire song, as he uses this as the basis for which he loves hip-hop. The first verse is touching in its sincerity; Mos Def stays out late and stays up writing rhymes; even when he doesn't know what to write, his love for hip-hop remains constant. However, it's his second verse that makes this song so special:

My folks said they was in love when they had me
I take they love they made me wit to make rhymes and beats
(Can you feel?) The raw deal, it's all wheel-driven
Contemplate the essence of beats, rhymes and living
Speech in line wit the rhythm, designed wit the rhythm
Ears and eyes keepin good time wit the rhythm
I shine wit the rhythm, the Black Star Gallactica
Big number fleetin, we ancient like the Abbacca's.....

These lines are poignant because they show just how deeply Mos is affect by the craft that he loves; each line, each musical note, is of the utmost importance and cannot be wasted. Mos Def is on a mission: to craft perfection with each song he writes. The fact that he acknowledges this with these lines:

After us, I see most proceed to be trees
Sproutin leaves, given breeze to the we who believe
I MC, which means I Must Cultivate the earth
Back straight backs, hard beats and hard work
I be the funky drummer to soften the hard earth.....

Is what makes this song classic; for me, these are easily the best lines of the song. Here, he acknowledges that hip-hop isn't just a hobby, it's a way of life, something to be taken seriously. For Mos Def, it's his job to work in the studio, to work as hard as he can to put out good product. In fact, it seems as though he's obligated himself to do this, either for his own preservation, hip-hop's, or both. This is reaffirmed in the song's closing lines:

Uptown to Boogie Down, yo just look around
AND SHOOK UP THE WORLD!, like Ali in 6-3 (right)
I'm reachin the height that you said cannot be
I'm bringin the light but you said we can't see
Saw the new day commin, and it look just like me
Some burst through the clouds, my photo ID
I bring light to your day and raise yo' degree
The Universal Magnetic, you must respect it
>From end to beginning, ? true and livin
EVERY CHANGING, it was a state of magnificent
Building it now for the promise of the infinite
Building it now for the promise of the inifinite.......

Perfection. This is the ultimate defense of hip-hop: Mos Def's love letter to the genre itself on wax. I encourage you all to check it out below: