"Respiration" is a song by American rappers

Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...

and

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

, collectively known as Black Star. It was released as the second single from the duo’s eponymously titled 1998 album (see

1998 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998. Specific locations *1998 in British music *1998 in Norwegian music *1998 in South Korean music Specific genres *#Classical music, 1998 in classical music *1998 in coun ...

). It features a guest verse from fellow American rapper

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

and guitar playing by DeChown Jenkins. The song’s

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

was handled by

Hi-Tek Tony Louis Cottrell (born May 5, 1976), better known as Hi-Tek, is an American rapper and music producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, ...

, who

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

"The Fox" as performed by Don Randi. In addition, the song's introduction samples a

monologue In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...

from the hip hop documentary ''

Style Wars ''Style Wars'' is a 1983 American documentary film on hip hop culture, directed by Tony Silver and produced in collaboration with Henry Chalfant. The film has an emphasis on graffiti, although bboying and rapping are covered to a lesser extent ...

''. It is found on '' Best of Decade I: 1995-2005'', a compilation of

Rawkus Records Rawkus Records (or Rawkus Entertainment) is an American hip hop record label, owned by James Murdoch, known for starting the careers of many rappers. Rawkus started in 1995 with releases in hip-hop, drum and bass and fun-dustrial (Dystopia One) ...

' best songs. It can also be found on

Howie B Howard Simon Bernstein (born 18 April 1963, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish musician, producer and DJ who has worked with artists including Björk, U2, Tricky, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soul II Soul, Robbie Robertson, Elisa, Mukul Deo ...

's compilation album '' Another Late Night: Howie B''. The single reached #54 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Two

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

es were made for "Respiration": 'Flying High Mix' contains production by

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned along ...

and a verse by

Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, singer, actor and the lead Emcee (hip hop), MC of the hip hop group The Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove in Philadelphia. Regar ...

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

. Another remix found on the ''Hip Hop Classics Vol. 1'' compilation album also features Pete Rock production, but has a guest verse by Common instead of Black Thought.

Single track list

A-Side

# "Respiration (Album Version Radio Edit)" # "Respiration (Album Version Instrumental)"

B-Side

# "Respiration (Flying High Radio Mix)" # "Respiration (Flying High Main Mix)" # "Respiration (Flying High Instrumental)"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Respiration (Song) 1999 singles Black Star (group) songs Common (rapper) songs Songs written by Common (rapper) Songs written by Mos Def 1998 songs Black-and-white music videos Songs written by Talib Kweli Songs written by Hi-Tek Songs about New York City Songs about Chicago

Single track list

A-Side

B-Side

See also

References