The story behind Mos Def’s ‘Brooklyn’
Mos Def’s debut album, Black on Both Sides, is a classic, stacked from start to finish with some of the best rap songs of the late ’90s. ‘Brooklyn,’ for one, is a masterpiece of East Coast hip-hop.
‘Brooklyn,’ as its title suggests, sees Mos shouting out his beloved home borough in New York, where he was born and raised. Musically, the track is interesting in that it’s split into three distinct sections, each one with a different beat. The first one was specifically created for Mos by Ge-ology, whereas the other two draw on other, pre-existing songs by different artists.
‘Home Sweet Home’ by Smif-N-Wessun is recreated for verse two, while the third and final verse is based on The Notorious B.I.G.’s ‘Who Shot Ya?’ Both Smif-N-Wessun and Biggie were from Brooklyn, like Mos.
The quirk of ‘Brooklyn’ being split into these three different movements actually occurred quite late in the production process, as, originally, the whole song was meant to be based on Ge-ology’s original beat. In fact, the producer only learned that there’d been a change as release day approached.
Ge-ology, as he readily admitted to Vice in 2019, was not at all happy about his contribution being diluted. Noting how his original version and the song that ultimately ended up on the album are “two different tracks, really,” he admitted that his beat being downgraded to only the first movement was “not something that I approved of.”
He only found out what had happened when a friend, DJ Spinna, managed to get an advanced copy of the album, before it was released. He informed Ge-ology that “they did some changes” to his original version of ‘Brooklyn,’ before letting him listen to it.
Ge-ology was taken aback. “So, I listened to it and I was pissed off,” he said, albeit with a laugh. It seems he got over it in time, but, in the moment, he was aghast. He said he duly “ambushed Mos” as soon as he got the chance.
Ge-ology was annoyed that Mos hadn’t told him about the change. They “used to hang tight,” so he was hurt that the rapper hadn’t just been honest rather than letting him find out in these circumstances. But, “at the end of the day,” he concluded, “he’s an artist. It’s his album.”
While Mos could have handled the situation differently, the decision was ultimately vindicated. ‘Brooklyn’ is a classic, and it wouldn’t have been the same had it not been split into three parts. It makes it truly unique.