“New World Water” by Mos Def (aka Yasiin Bey)

As of the writing of this post, climate change is an extremely hot topic in international politics and has been more or less building up to this point for a couple of decades now. But that is not to say that people being aware of the fact that modernization, industrialization, etc. has a negative effect on the environment is anything new. 

For instance, we have already covered songs from back in the day, such as Joni Mitchell’s 1970 classic “Big Yellow Taxi“, that have held down such a position. And in the late-1990s Mos Def offered his own unique take on the matter, perhaps being the first rapper to dedicate an entire song to this topic, in “New World Water”. But as implied by the title, he focuses squarely on water-related issues. But that said, he takes a very overarching, comprehensive approach to this particular concern.

Karma

And one of the first interesting arguments the vocalist makes, in a roundabout way, is that said water issues may be the result of divine karma, if you will. In other words, the Earth itself is upset with mankind due to certain acts in which waterbodies have been defiled, such as the Transatlantic Slave Trade, in which millions of African captives were lost in oceanic routes to the Western Hemisphere. 

So it can be said that Mos Def, being the intellectual that he is, views some of our current water-related maladies, such as the prevalence of floods, as the direct result of getting God angry, so to speak, due to past human rights’ abuses.

The Conservation of Water

Beyond that, what the vocalist is also speaking to is water conservation. Or as presented, the amount of portable water, i.e. water that is suitable for drinking and hygienic purposes, is on a rapid decrease. 

And as opposed to floods, this environmental ill is rather being caused by droughts. So it’s like if water issues don’t get you one way, they’ll get you another. But meanwhile, the vocalist’s peers and colleagues are worried about relatively trivial matters such as materialism and what have you. 

So while they’re out investing in depreciable goods, Mos Def is rather focused on getting his water game tight. And by that, he is copping a tank that can theoretically hold water for a good 20 years.

The “New World Water”

Meanwhile, the hook reveals what the title of this song actually means. “New World Water” is a name given to the aqua that most of us consume as citizens of modern society. This is not fresh, natural water that we are taking in, as our ancestors did. Instead, first of all various chemicals have to be added to make it consumable. 

And even then, when the rapper implies that it is contaminated with “lead”, that would be the result of said liquid passing through pipes before reaching our homes. Beyond that let’s not forget that water, despite being the most abundant resource on Earth, has now become an actual monetary expense for many of us. 

And Mos is attributing that reality to another aspect of environmental degradation, that when entities like oil companies destroy waterways, it resultantly makes uncontaminated H₂O more valuable and therefore more costly.

Vital Roles of Water

The second verse then centers on the rapper delineating different, all-valuable roles that water plays in our lives. This extends beyond the basic consumption, cooking and drinking purposes but also how clean water is essential for medical treatment for instance. And at the end of the day we all, “rich and poor, Black and White” alike, “got a need for it”.

But disagreeably, you have the likes of Americans not properly respecting this resource. And it’s like in some places in the Third World for example, everybody knows they have serious water problems. But such issues also exist, as implied, in developed countries like the United States. However, in such localities the powers that be are a lot better at keeping this reality under wraps. 

And again, it is actually their polluting, money-grubbing ways that now have us drinking “new world water”. And once again this phrase refers to water that has to go through all types of treatment before it is fit for human usage.

Thesis Sentiment of “New World Water”

And as far as the thesis sentiment goes, that is actually Yasiin’s main point. Waterbodies have become so polluted that you dare not take their contents straight to the head. Indeed, it’s even risky to ‘wash your feet with it’. 

And the ones who are most responsible for this calamity are the capitalistic, unscrupulous commercial powers that be. And at the end of the day, from back during the Middle Passage up until contemporary history, we’re regularly greeted with the likes of massive oil spills. Simply put, these entities are still defiling essential waterbodies in their endless search for more “cash money”. 

So conclusively, we can say that Mos Def is in fact blaming environmental degradation primarily on the likes of major corporations and governments.

Mos Def

For the record Mos Def, whose birth name is Dante Terrell Smith, underwent a legal name change in 2011, to Yasiin Bey. Meanwhile during the heyday of his popularity, which as it currently stands was around the turn of the century, he was known exclusively as Mos Def. 

So of course some fans still and likely always will refer to him by that moniker. However, Yasiin seems to be quite serious in terms of discouraging people from now referring to him as Mos Def. This is why if you visit most of his official platforms, you will see that his name is rather listed as “Yasiin Bey”.

Facts about “New World Water”

This track came out on 12 October 1999. At the time of its release, Yasiin was still known as Mos Def. 

“New World Water” is from the rapper’s debut solo album, “Black on Both Sides”.

“Black on Both Sides” was put out by Priority Records alongside Rawkus Records, both being labels that specialize in hip-hop.

Since “New World Water” wasn’t a single from its album, it shares the same release date as the album. And the said date of release is the 12th of October 1999.

“Black on Both Sides” proved to be a notable success. The album topped Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart. In addition to this, it went gold in Yasiin’s homeland, the United States. 

And readers who may not be personally familiar with Mos Def may still recognize one of the singles from that project, “Umi Says”. This is because the said single was famously featured on a Michal Jordan commercial around the time it came out.

This track was produced by Psycho Les. This name might be familiar to some readers that are really into turn-of-the-century hip-hop. And why? Because Psycho Les first gained recognition as part of the musical duo known as The Beatnuts. The Beatnuts were very popular in the 1990s.

Les also co-wrote the song with Mos Def.