Song of the Day – Mathematics by Mos Def

Mos Def’s Mathematics not only transcends its genre, it is one of the most creative songs I’ve heard in a long time.

Mos Def was born in in Bed Sty in 1973 (ouch, the year after I graduated High School), and his genre is listed in Wikipedia as alternative hip hop which seems about right.

A small sampling of the lyrics will indicate some of the creativity of this song, but the mash-up and scratch has to be heard.

…Budget cutbacks but increased police presence
And even if you get out of prison still livin
join the other five million under state supervision
This is business, no faces just lines and statistics
from your phone, your zip code, to S-S-I digits
The system break man child and women into figures
Two columns for who is, and who ain’t niggaz