The hip-hop duo delivered two songs from their long-awaited album on Nov. 12.
Black Star performs during “Saturday Night Live” on Nov. 12.
Courtesy Photo
Black Star made their Studio 8H debut on Nov. 12.
Introduced as “Brooklyn’s finest” by third-time Saturday Night Live host Dave Chappelle, the hip-hop duo of Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) performed a pair of tracks from their long-awaited new album, No Fear or Time.
The 49-year-old comedian co-costs the Midnight Miracle podcast with Kweli and Bey.
For their musical guest spot, Black Star delivered two new tracks — “So Be It” and “The Main Thing Is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing” — from their new Madlib-produced album, No Fear of Time, which arrived earlier this year on Luminary. The nine-song set is the duo’s first album since 1998’s Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star.
Kweli and Bey were joined onstage by Madlib for the hard-hitting tracks. Ahead of Black Star’s SNL performance, Kweli spoke about the significance of appearing on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show.
“I can’t recall seeing a more hip-hop, a more independent group than Black Star to ever do SNL,” the artist told Consequence. “So I’m definitely excited to represent for the culture.”
Watch Black Star’s SNL performances below, and see the full episode on Hulu here. The streaming service is currently offering a 30-day free trial, which you can sign up for here. The show is also live streamed on Peacock.