The New Danger | ||||
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Studio album by Mos Def | ||||
Released | October 12, 2004 | |||
Genre | Hip hop, black rock | |||
Length | 74:51 | |||
Label | Rawkus, Geffen | |||
Producer | Mos Def, Easy Mo Bee, Kanye West, 88-Keys, Minnesota, Warryn Campbell, Psycho Les | |||
Mos Def chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 59/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Blender | |
Entertainment Weekly | C+ |
The Independent | |
NME | 7/10 |
Pitchfork | 5.4/10 |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | |
Spin | B |
The Village Voice | A− |
The New Danger is the second studio album by American hip hop artist Mos Def. It is the follow-up to his breakthrough solo effort Black on Both Sides (1999), after which he devoted more time into his film and stage career.The New Danger was released in October 2004 to generally mixed reviews and eventually sold 513,000 copies.
Production for the album was handled by Mos Def, Kanye West, 88 Keys, Minnesota, Warryn Campbell, and Psycho Les. It also features contributions from Mos Def's rock musical project Black Jack Johnson, which was named after boxing champion Jack Johnson and consists of guitarist Dr. Know, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, bassist Doug Wimbish, and drummer Will Calhoun.
The New Danger was released by Geffen Records on October 12, 2004, in the United States and October 18 in the United Kingdom. It debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 in its first week, and by March 2014, it had sold 513,000 copies in the US.
The New Danger received generally mixed reviews from critics; it holds an aggregate score of 59 out of 100 at Metacritic.Blender called it "mushily sentimental, self-righteously indignant and constantly in your face", while AllMusic's Andy Kellman said it was "a sprawling, overambitious mess".New York magazine panned the album as "an unsatisfying muddle of protest music, black rock, and rap". In The New York Times, Kelefa Sanneh wrote that the record suffered from extended soul songs that meandered, dull rock songs, and some raps such as "The Rap Over" that were devoid of Mos Def's usual "warmth and wit".NME deemed some of the songs failed experiments but also highlighted "Boogie Man Song", "Modern Marvel", and "Champion Requiem" as more timeless material.Rolling Stone critic Tom Moon was more enthusiastic, hailing the album as an "earthy, impressively diverse" work that showcased Mos Def's abilities to "create deeply nuanced characterizations" and "broaden the hip-hop palette without sacrificing, or selling out, its core ideals". Writing for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said while Mos Def's past records were driven by his "verbal flow", The New Danger was more interesting musically and defined by its sonic flow, which the critic described as "a shadowy, guitar-drenched tone poem of the streets". In his ballot for the annual Pazz & Jop critics poll, he named it the 19th best album of 2004.