When we last talked Gorillaz, my esteemed colleague, Mr. Philip Cosores, concluded his analysis of the band’s performance on The Colbert Report by noting, “Oh, and please get Mos Def to show up to at least one of these!” Well, Phil (and the rest of the world), your wish has been answered.
Last night, Mos Def joined Damon Albarn, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Kano, Bashy, and Bobby Womack appeared on British television program Later with Jools Holland, where they performed two songs from the Gorillaz’ recently released Plastic Beach, the album’s first single, “Stylo”, and “White Fang Flag”.
Thanks to the accompaniment of the National Orchestra of Arabic Music in Syria, “White Fang” proved to be a brilliant listen, but the rare appearance of Mos Def made “Stylo” the evening’s true highlight. In addition to complementing Albarn’s vocals on the track, the rapper also appeared to amp up the energy of the band’s performance, at least if you compare it to the one given on Colbert.
