In hip-hop terms this is chicken feed, but Mos Def isn’t Jay-Z, and the gig had a long profile within certain influential strata: a boutiquey show in New York’s most beautiful theater, preceded by weeks of positive chatter.

Represent to yourselves, Gentlemen, I entreat you, the many false keys, bribes to the lacqueys of authors that can keep them, and collusions with the booksellers of authors that cannot, which were required in the prosecution of this arduous undertaking.

powers adequate to a great work

‘Seven months I've been worriting my guts out in London, and all on the off-chance of getting a seat in the office of that sanctimonious old vulpicide.’