Black Star - No Fear of Time

The duo's comeback shows some rust.

Mos Def & Ski Beatz - "Sensei on the Block"

Mos Def is back with a vengeance on this new Ski Beatz-produced track. Enjoy!

Golden Rules - "Never Die" ft. Yasiin Bey

Golden Rules is the team-up of Paul White, the UK's premier leftfield hip hop producer, and Florida rapper/singer/producer Eric Biddines. The twosome has a full-length project called Golden Ticket out August 7 via Lex Records; until then, you can check out this super soulful single featuring Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def).

Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) – “N****s in Poorest”

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.

Black Star- "Fix Up"

Now this is a comeback I can get into. Hip hop is loaded with surprise collaborations. Some of 'em float, and some of 'em sink. Most Def's and Talib Kweli's Black Star didn't just float. It flew. Then it dropped an atomic bomb on the competition.

After years of anticipation building up since Black Star's full-length debut in 1998, Kweli and Def have dropped a new single titled "Fix Up." It's out now on iTunes, and should be leading to a new album in 2012.

The beat on this track is produced by Madlib, and while I am excited to hear this forthcoming album, I don't feel like this track was the fiery, attention-grabbing song I was hoping it would be. The mixing it off, making the vocals and the beat feel odd. The lines are pretty good, though. There's a nice lyrical back 'n' forth toward the end of the track, too.

The Bullitts feat. Jay Electronica- "Run & Hide"

This new song featuring Louisiana MC Jay Electronica comes because it's on the forthcoming Bullitts album They Die By Dawn and Other Short Stories.

This isn't the first time Jay and the Bullitts have worked together, though. The project, dropped a single in 2010 titled "Close Your Eyes." That track didn't just feature Jay, but actress Lucy Liu as well. Both of them will be on this upcoming Bullitts album, sharing credits with Mos Def, Tori Amos, Idris Elba, and Saul Emmanuel.

The mixture of musicians and actors is because this thing thing is going to be part album, part movie. Here's a peek at the video element of this album, which is directed and written by Jeymes Samue: