Charisma with a message

By the time Mos Def hushed his DJs and broke into an a cappella rap about “beefs” deep into his show Sunday at the House of Blues, the worshipful crowd would have followed him anywhere. The fact that he used this intimate moment to school surging dancers on the pettiness of rivalries between rappers, while deftly channeling the overwhelming energy in the room, showed the purpose behind his endless charisma.

In a short but massively entertaining show that was equal parts dance party and black-consciousness celebration, Mos Def and his guests proved that radical material and raw presence can make hip-hop shows more than run-throughs of radio hits -- indeed, can yield artistry of the highest rank.

Because he’s moved nimbly from a breakthrough 1997 album with Talib Kweli (as rap duo Black Star) to acting, then to rap-rock band Black Jack Johnson, all bets were off as to what would happen onstage. But after a punchy set by former Organized Konfusion member Pharoahe Monch and a guest spot by Xzibit, Mos Def came on with fast-flowing hip-hop, unleashing torrents of words on such cuts as “Mathematics,” from his 1999 album, “Black on Both Sides.”

After only three songs, he brought out Kweli, launching into “Re:DEFinition” and “Astronomy (8th Light),” signature tunes from Black Star.

The Mos Def-Kweli connection is as urgent today as it was six years ago, especially in light of the resurgence of “positive” hip-hop.

The lasting impression was that party anthems can also be good for you. As Kweli summed up in his section of the a cappella rap: “This ain’t no music you hear uptown at the Apollo / This is music we are making for a better tomorrow.”