This time around, the ends definitely justify the means. But rest assured it will grow on you and after a couple of spins you'll have the soulful, Latin funk of “Casa Bey” and the snappy rhymes of tracks like “Quiet Dog Bite Hard” stuck in your head. The Ecstatic is the quintessential grower, and for some that won't be easy to take. Mos Def's rhymes, as a result, sometimes get lost in the shuffle. The production is uniquely executed, with the beats often focusing more on sample placement than drums and bass, but it's this lack of a low-end that sometimes makes your head nod in backwards directions. The Ecstatic is solid from front to back, but it's not always entirely cohesive. Of course the most reminiscent aspect of “History” has to be the hearty reminder that, as talented as he is, Talib Kweli is always better when he's only making an appearance. It's only on the Dilla produced, Black Star re-uniting “History” that it really clicks that this is the same guy who sang “1, 2, 3.it's Mos Def and Talib Kweli”. Not only is it the complete opposite of what I expected from Mos Def, The Ecstatic is light-years away from his classic sound and several aisle's left of centre. On an album full of head-scratchers, it's only on the inexplicably lazy (and explicitly Spanish) “No Hay Nada Mas” that'll have you breaking skin. Hundreds of deals added daily on new and used furniture, purses, kids stuff and more. But the album doesn't tail off after arguably it's best track, because Mos Def has done an excellent job at recruiting a diverse line-up of producers and performers who manage to all put their fingerprints on the music without making the album sound like a third-rate compilation.įrom “Wahid”'s synthesized take on the club banger to the reggae-tinged, “Umi Says” infused “Workers Comp.”, Mos Def inserts bits of his own flair into the masterworks of his list of varied super producers. Shop and save with VarageSale, your free virtual garage sale app. Madlib's production work manages to make something out of nothing (the samples might as well be muzak) and the Slick Rick appearance dots the is and crosses the ts on what quickly becomes one the years strongest tracks. If I had any doubts about The Ecstatic, “Auditorium” put them to rest. Sandwiched between Oh No's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-like “Supermagic” and Madlib's Madvillain-esque “Auditiorium”, the Chad Hugo produced “Twilite Speedball” may be a little too close to Pharoahe Monch's “Simon Says” for comfort, but its almost total lack of thump and emphasis on the one-two-trumpet-guitar beat perfectly complete the album's opening three song punch, bookended by Madlib and his brother's distinguished production work. The Ecstatic does a great job at easing the listener into Mos Def's new left-of-centre aesthetic. Far from a classic but far from True Magic, The Ecstatic is worth more than a passing glance. While it won't have me punning on it's title, I'm at least happy to have him back. Well, The Ecstatic is here and it's made me care. I figured he'd continue rapping, I just never imagined myself caring about it again. Mos Def could now comfortably be put in the same conversation as Common and Will Smith. True Magic, an album most people would pay to forget, solidified this. What was worrisome is that it became almost immediately clear that 'Def had other things going for him. His first album post-The Italian Job, The New Danger wasn't terrible, but it left a lot to be desired. For it's front cover, a still from Charles Burnett's 1978 film Killer of Sheep was reproduced in red tint.Review Summary: The Ecstatic puts Mos Def on an alternative track back towards hip-hop relevance.Īfter The New Danger came out I was all but convinced that Mos Def had been lost permanently to rapper-slash territory. Singer Georgia Anne Muldrow, formerly of the record label, was one of the album's few guest vocalists, along with rappers Slick Rick and Talib Kweli. Flash, Oh No, and Madlib, the latter two of whom reused instrumentals they had produced on Stones Throw Records. He worked with producers such as Preservation, Mr. Mos Def recorded The Ecstatic primarily at the Record Plant in Los Angeles. A widespread critical success, The Ecstatic was viewed as a return to form for Mos Def and one of the year's best albums. The album was described as a conscious and alternative hip hop record with an eccentric, internationalist quality. 2009 release, the fourth studio album from Mos Def (Yasiin Bey).
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