Yasiin Bey--or Mos Def, rather--has released a video to go along with his “N****s in Poorest” track. The video is Bey doing the song in studio, with cuts to news footage and pictures relevant to the lyrics. The video also features subtitles for the entire song, which is kind of nice since the whole point of this track is the lyrical impact.
If you can’t already tell from the title the song uses a cut up version of the “N****s in Paris” beat. While lyrically Bey goes off and contradicts the message that the original gives. His raw delivery and the chopped beat may take a while to get used to, but it only helps the tone he is attempting to deliver. The anti-materialist message is clear right from the beginning, along with a strong message to fear power. This track is partially in honor of Malcolm X and it is delivered in a very unique way, which is greatly emphasized by the visuals.