Toki Wright w/ Yakub and Kid Cut Up

Minneapolis rapper Toki Wright had been a staple of the Twin Cities rap scene for more than a decade, collaborating with P.O.S. and C-Rayz Walz, but save for one mixtape, he hadn't released much material of his own before the scene's flagship label, Rhymesayers, issued his 2009 debut album, A Different Mirror. Showcasing soulful, meat-and-potatoes hip-hop beats and Wright's loose, reggae-accented flow, that record and its 2010 follow-up EP, BlackMale, recall Mos Def and Talib Kweli's early work as Black Star.