Mos Def on Noisettes

"It has been 10 years since the Brooklyn rapper Mos Def, a k a Dante Terrell Smith, released his debut, 'Black on Both Sides.' In the interim he’s honed his acting chops, winning an Obie for his work Off Broadway, nabbing an Emmy nomination for a television movie and appearing in successively larger film roles. And he has steadily recorded albums, earning three Grammy nominations. He picks up where he left off with his fourth album, 'The Ecstatic' (Downtown Records), scheduled for release on June 9. … While he spoke by phone with Winter Miller about what he’s listening to now, his daughter interrupted with an accusation: He was eating all of the jelly beans. … 'Noisettes … have the most incredible lead singer in rock ’n’ and roll today, bar none. Her name is Shingai Shoniwa. She is phenomenal. She plays bass, she does lead vocals and her range is out of here. And she’s a stone babe. Like Grace Jones, Barbarella. It’s really kind of disturbing. The songs on "Wild Young Hearts" (Mercury) are well written, and the band is tight. They put me in the mind of Earl Greyhound, those three-piece sets that really work'" ("Playlist," New York Times, 5/10/09).