Black Star Is Headlining This Year's Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival

Photo Credit: Mr. Mass

Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli are headlining this year's Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival as the one and only Black Star.

The Brooklyn natives will be closing out the multi-day festival, which will be having its 14-year anniversary this year. Coinciding with the duo's performance will also be a "The making of the Black Star album" panel, which will presumably center around the pair's seminal debut album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star. The album turns 20 this year in September.

The event takes place July 9-14, with Black Star's show happening on the last day. Tickets can be purchased here.

The rest of Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival's lineup has yet to be released. But hopefully Bey and Kweli will be performing songs from Black Star's first album, as well as tracks from their rumored second album. Two months ago, Bey announced that he and Kweli were working on a new album together produced by Madlib.

"New Black Star with Madlib, Talib Kweli, Yasiin, coming soon!" Bey said during a Madlib DJ set in Denver, Colorado. "All Madlib, all day. 2018, Madlib, Black Star. Madlib Black Star."

Following the reveal, Kweli spoke on the album, saying "It looks like it might happen."

"I found out on the internet the same way y'all did. We've been talking about doing an album with Madlib for years. That's been an idea we've had for so long, but for him to make that announcement…I didn't know he was going to make the announcement," Kweli said.

"He went to a Madlib show and he got hype. It's not like we discussed it and said, 'Ok, we're going to announce it.'" the rapper added. "I got off the plane, I landed and was like, 'Oh ok.' It's an idea we have been discussing for a long time, now we just gotta make it happen."

Prior to their Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival performance, Black Star will be performing with Nas in Colorado, as well as Erykah Badu, NxWorries, The Roots, and others as a part of Long Beach's Smokin Grooves music festival.