With Nothing Up Their Sleeves, Mos Def And Geffen Make Album Disappear

Did Geffen Records release Mos Def's third album, Tru3 Magic, on Dec. 29 or not? According to the label, uh, sort of.

If you were one of the people who bought a copy of the MC's newest album, what you purchased wasn't an official "release." What it was, according to label representatives, was a "limited edition pre-release," which is obviously totally different.

After Tru3 Magic leaked online in early December, a decision was made to rush it into stores early to combat piracy. It was so rushed that it dropped on Dec. 29 to little or no fanfare. The LP's irregular release date — a Friday rather than the traditional Tuesday, and during the slow week between Christmas and New Year's — assured scant attention would be paid to it.

Without the promise of any sort of promotion on the 33-year-old performer's part, most reviewers assumed that this was just another case of end of contract fever and that the rapper had just phoned in the last contractually obligated record on his three-album deal with Geffen.According to many reviews, that sounds like it could be the case.

Then, after dumping the album where no one would find it, both Mos and the label had second thoughts. They came to the joint decision to push the release date back to the spring when the rapper/actor would be more available to promote it. There was an attempt to recall the record, but it had already been shipped, which made a full recall difficult since it's up to each store's discretion whether or not to send back an already shipped release.

So, with 11,000 copies already sold in the U.S., a #151 debut on Billboard's retail sales chart printed, and the song "Undeniable" already nominated for a best rap solo performance Grammy Award, Tru3 Magic will actually be released this spring. Not re-released, but released, officially, with a slightly altered track list and full artwork, since the current minimal packaging is pretty weak. The different track list will allow the album to debut again on the sales chart, this time maybe at a higher position.

If you have Tru3 Magic in its pre-release, limited edition version, lock that puppy away. It'll probably be... well, slightly different than the one that comes out in the spring.Maybe it'll be better. But probably not.