It’s certainly been an up-and-down year for fans and followers of Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def). Be it the announcement of his musical retirement, the saddening final live performances, or even his passport issues which has held him in South Africa since January, only to be recently resolved – it’s been confusing to say the least.
With his imminent retirement ahead, nobody exactly expected the announcement of a brand new album as part of a new a collaborative duo with Ferrari Sheppard, Dec.99th. The release is expected to come out next week.
According to Pitchfork, the album is similarly titled December 99th, and is the result of the duo spending “last year recording in South Africa” while Bey “awaited his departure from the country”. The pair first met in 2013 in Ethiopia, at a time where Sheppard was primarily working as a photographer and journalist, producing music as a hobby. The duo made their debut back in May with the bold and veracious N.A.W., and went on to release a number of tracks such as Local Time, Seaside Panic Room, and the non-album cut HYMN.
After his announcement in January, Yasiin Bey reaffirmed his musical retirement last month, explaining, “I’m moving onto other things, still being creative. Definitely fashion, textiles and just art. Whatever I can create that’s beautiful and useful, that’s what I wanna do.”
During this he mentioned that “exclusive new material” to be released onto Jay Z‘s Tidal streaming platform, and with December 99th charted as a Tidal exclusive, there is certainly reason to believe that this album may in fact be the last we hear of him musically.
It’s going to be okay, we promise.
Whether or not this will actually be Bey’s final musical output is questionable and frankly unlikely, but maybe I’m just jaded and cynical. You decide.
December 99th Tracklist:
- N.A.W.
- Blade In The Pocket
- SPESH
- Local Time
- Tall Sleeves
- Seaside Panic Room
- Shadow In the Dark
- It Goes
- Special Dedication
Album Image: Pitchfork
Header Image: Okayplayer