GIG: Mos Def To Play Auckland In January 2011

Auckland hip-hop fans are in for a treat this January, with the announcement of the first ever solo tour to these shores by Brooklyn hip-hop legend Mos Def. The 36-year-old Grammy award-winning rapper (real name Dante Terrell Smith) is making his way down under early in the new year on his The Ecstatic Tour, a trek named after his chart-topping 2009 LP, The Ecstatic.

With the release of his fourth longplayer last year, the “Casa Bey” MC landed a slew of critical acclaim. The US edition of Rolling Stone magazine placed the LP at number 17 of their best albums of the year, while Spin magazine described it as “his finest full-length since Black on Both Sides”.

Also a talented actor (with roles in movies such as Brown Sugar, Monster’s Ball, The Italian Job and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), Mos Def first came to prominence back in the mid ‘90s, when he joined the group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD) with his younger brother, DCQ, and his younger sister, Ces. Two years later Def guested on projects with hip-hop legends De La Soul and Da Bush Babees, before eventually teaming up with Talib Kweli for the seminal 1998 Black Star project.

Mos Def is currently working on his fifth LP and has recently signed a new label contract with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint.

Gig Details

• Wednesday 19th January 2011 at Powerstation, Auckland

Doors open at 7.30pm and Mos Def will be supported by Rip It Up Magazine editor DJ Sir Vere. Tickets $77+bf on sale Tuesday October 26th from Ticketmaster, Beat Merchants, and Real Groovy.