Yasiin Bey, fka Mos Def, has been keeping himself busy ever since his unfortunate arrest in South Africa earlier this year. Whether or not a new album is on the way from him remains to be seen, but it sounds like he’s definitely producing enough material for a future release of some kind to make sense down the line. During a performance in Cape Town, Yasiin joined BADBADNOTGOOD to perform a number of songs, and among them was a brand new track titled “Arcade.”
Speaking with 10and5, BADBADNOTGOOD explained, “We got an email from someone that works with him the first night we got in, asking if we’d be willing to perform a couple songs with him at our show.” They continued, “Of course we said yes, then the next night we went to meet up with him. After a couple rehearsals we figured out what to play, and ended up doing 6 songs. 3 by him, as well as two Rodriguez songs, and ‘Buggin Out’ as a tribute to Phife Dawg. It was an incredible experience! The rehearsals were magical, we really connected musically which is difficult sometimes after first meeting someone.”
The performance happened at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, and footage of the band performing alongside Yasiin can be seen above.
