I had this dream about a month ago.
We were in a studio at Hot 97 but it was crazy budget, it looked like some small room at a state school campus center. Take that reference point from someone who would know.
We walk in while they’re taping and hear the DJ say “our guests in the studio today are Dr. Joyce Brothers and Mos Def…” We stand and wait off to the side, watching the radio personalities and guests sitting around the end of this conference room table. Mos Def is on one side getting all the questions. I’m excited because I’ve decided I’m going to talk to him when they’re done and get some things off my chest.
We wait patiently.
I remember the guy mentioning Dr. Joyce Brothers so I lean over to see where at the table she’s sitting because I haven’t heard a peep from her. Sure enough, the celebrity psychologist is sitting across the table from Mos but she’s sleeping like an old man in an armchair. Her head hangs forward down towards her lap and she’s loudly snoring like my grandfather used to.
Oddly, none of the radio show people are acknowledging their one sleeping guest. It’s business as usual while they chat with Mos Def. I wonder how long she’s been asleep and if she’s ok.
The show ends and people put their headsets down and begin to clear out the room. Mos goes to a closet near the back of the room to get out his jacket and that’s when I make my move.
“Mos Def!”
“Hey.”
“I love your new album!”
He thanks me with a smile but I cut him off.
“Well first off, I’m a big fan of yours going back to the ‘Universal Magnetic’ days and even earlier. You were on that De La album too. And the Rawkus stuff, Soundbombing and your debut I played all the time, oh and Black Star. All that good stuff when you seemed to be the next big thing. Ms. Fatbooty was the jam.”
He thanks me again smile wavering just a bit.
“But you know things started to fizzle a bit after that. You lost me on New Danger. It was all right, it had its moments but overall… Disappointing.”
“Oh.”
“And you just seemed to have veered off course. The Black Jack Johnson stuff.. and then when True Magic came out, this is what I want to say sorry for Mos. I didn’t even hear it. Everyone online said it sucked and so I didn’t even hear it. So I was running Oh Word at that time and agent b came to me with this idea for a post. He already had done the art and everything. And I just wanted to apologize Mos because I ran this post clowning you and I hadn’t even heard the album. I mean I’m pretty sure it was lousy but I hadn’t even heard it.”
I clearly lost Mos Def around “so I was running Oh Word”. He’s looking uncomfortable, unsure of what kind of crazy he’s dealing with. But I won’t stop talking.
“So the art said Mos Def & Contract are True Magic. To be honest, I didn’t even think it was that funny but it felt like people would. I’m sorry Mos Def. I shouldn’t have run that on my site before I heard your album. Especially because I’ve been listening to the Ecstatic like non-stop. It’s so fucking good! And I’m just wondering, what if all the reports I heard about True Magic were wrong and I didn’t even listen to it and I had people making fun of you for it on my site. And meanwhile you still had this ability to do something great and I just wanted to say sorry.”
“It’s okay, man.”
Mos has got his jacket on by now and seeming to not want to talk about it he takes off out of the room. The studio has emptied out, I’m left standing alone with a clear conscience.
Thinking that I made the right decision to apologize for that.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I wish I had dreams like that. I dreamt that I had a Gene Hackman celebrity sighting once, though.
Mos told me that wasn’t a dream at all and that he slightly feared for his life. Glad it all worked out.
Nice one. Wish that dream were true. Someone needs to put that in his ear. Thanks.