By 1999 Mos Def had already made a name for himself as a freestyle wizard in New York, a gifted MC that held crowds captive with Lyricist Lounge, and as one half of Black Star. Still he crafted a solo debut that seemed to ignore the hype yet managed to blow us away with its genre bending optimism at a time when hip hop was losing its golden luster. Black On Both Sides delivered a love letter to Blackness that is just as excellent and relevant 20 years later.