Black Star Debuts New Madlib-Produced Track on Podcast With Dave Chappelle
Premiering the song on the second episode of ‘The Midnight Miracle.’
Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and Talib Kweli gave Black Star fans a first listen at their upcoming material by debuting a brand new Madlib-produced track during the second episode of The Midnight Miracle, the pair’s podcast alongside Dave Chappelle.
Tentatively titled “Automatic,” the track clocks in at approximately four minutes and was played near the end of the podcast’s “Gladiator Circus World” episode. Although the track is currently not available on streaming, this gives fans something to hold on to as they hopefully await the release of Black Star’s first record in almost 25 years.
Madlib confirmed that the new Black Star album was officially finished by November 2019, with Now Again Records founder/president Egon (Eothen Alapatt) confirming, “We got the Black Star album. We’re mixing that right now.” By July 2020, however, Kweli announced that the project was cancelled. “I’m tired of being silent about this. I tried my best y’all. Flew around the globe. Paid for this out of pocket. All for the culture. I’m a fan of Black Star too. I want to see this come out as bad as y’all do, or more,” he said in a now-deleted Instagram post. “But people who never made a beat, never wrote a rhyme in they life got they fingers in the pie and are being disrespectful to what me and my brothers built. It’s in Gods hands now. I’m on to other things, life is too short to be disrespected by culture vultures. Maybe y’all will get to hear this album after I’m gone.” The premiere of “Automatic” is hopefully a sign that the record is back on its way to being officially released.
The debut of The Midnight Miracle also heard the trio speak with a selection of guests such as Chris Rock, Questlove, Jon Hamm, audio clips featuring Robin Williams, Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh and music from Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin, Robert Glasper, The Roots and Stevie Wonder.
Take a listen to the first episode above and catch the rest of the podcast on Luminary.
In related news, check out Dave Chappelle’s interview with Joe Rogan.
