Black Star took to the Saturday Night Live stage this past weekend, bringing a scintillating performance of their track ‘So Be It’. The duo – comprising Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and Talib Kweli – released their Madlib-produced album No Fear of Time earlier this year, marking their first release since 1998’s Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star.
The duo performed a couple of cuts from No Fear of Time during their appearance on the most recent episode of SNL, which was hosted by comedian Dave Chappelle.
Discussing the Black Star reunion earlier this year, Kewili said: “This is very similar to how we did the first album. But the first album, there were no mobile studios. This entire album, we have not set foot in one recording studio. It’s all been done in hotel rooms and backstage at Dave Chappelle shows.”
Bey went on to note: “What you will continue to get out of us is a sincere expression. It’s who we really are, what we’re really responding to, and what’s really important to us.” You can watch Black Star performing ‘So Be It’ below.
As well as a performance by Black Star, Saturday’s SNL episode saw host Dave Chappelle address Kanye West’s recent slew of antisemitic comments in his opening monologue: “I denounce anti-Semitism in all its forms, and I stand with my friends in the Jewish community,” he began. “And that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time.”
The comedian continued: “I’ve probably been doing this 35 years now, and early in my career I learned that there are two words in the English language you should never say together in sequence, and they are: The Jews,’” he continued. “I’ve never heard someone do good after they said that.”
