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I’ve always wondered why Kanye never officially teamed up with his Blackstar homies Mos Def and Talib Kweli. They’ve always seemed like a natural fit for each other after seeing how Kweli opened the door for one of the most successful acts in rap today by letting Kanye open up for him on his promotional tour before anybody had any kind of faith in Ye’ the rapper, most only knew him as a uber-talented producer. The artists would make frequent appearances on each other’s album and performances but nothing was ever official.

Talib Kweli has been pretty good at holding it down on his own as an artist and co-owner of his Blacksmith music label while Mos almost abandoned music altogether to become a very credible actor.

All the while, Mos Def the musician, while putting out decent music, was flailing like a man overboard without a life jacket to get his label’s attention Kanye’s G.O.O.D. music artists like Common and John Legend has earned an esteemed place in the music landscape.

Joining the aforementioned, as well as Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Consequence, GLC, Mr Hudson, and the recently added Pusha T of Clipse, Mos Def finally gets to be in the music family that he needs to be in.

According to a new XXL interview with Kanye West:

“Just as Kanye returned to his roots to scoop up Common, he recently recruited his buddy Brooklyn rapper/singer/actor Mos Def into the GOOD Music fold. Long regarded as a formidable talent by underground devotees and mainstream fans alike, Mos appeared on “Two Words” (from Kanye’s 2005 The College Dropout) and “Drunk and Hot Girls” (from KW’s 2007 Graduation). Since his 1999 solo debut, Black on Both Sides, Mos has increasingly been pushed — whether by generational choices or self-exile — to the fringes of indie, alternative hip hop. Maybe it will take Kanye to reign him in.”

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