WERS 88.9 fm - Album Review: Mos Def - The Ecstatic

 August 11th, 2009

The Ecstatic is Mos Def's first album in three years but his best album in ten. The album begins with a quote from Malcolm X, and then goes into a track produced by Madlib's younger brother, Oh No, titled, "Supermagic." This is a fitting introduction as the album is the definition of conscious rap. The production of this track may be one of its more interesting traits as each song has a very unique sound and yet they all feel connected. The production on the track has a lot of Madlib and Oh No as well as a track from the late J Dilla and even The Neptunes with some efforts from the mighty Mos himself. The tracks sample some Middle Eastern sounds, a few 70's esque samples and even some Brazilian funk.

Def brings his usual repertoire of singing and raping to t he table. There are track such as "Priority" that are all about the rhythms, and then more harmonic songs like "Pistola," then mixes like "Workers comp." The album also features some powerful guest performances such as a verse by Slick Rick, the rula himself on "Auditorium," and a Black Star reunion (the collaboration between Def and Talib Kweli) on the Dilla produced "History."

The album is relatively short, clocking it at roughly 45 minutes and features a several songs shorter than three minutes. This comes in as the albums only real flaw, but that comes more from a selfish stance of a fan wanting more. It can also be seen as a strength in the current attention deficit era we find ourselves in. I do recommend listening to the entire album, as there are no weak tracks.

The album is one of the best releases of the summer. Proving that Mos Def's claim to the hip hop crown was not entirely unfounded as the album largely lives up to his claims of superiority over his mainstream peers.

-Frank Castle

And for another take on The Ecstatic...

For the last few years, many hip-hop fans have been asking the same question: What's happened to Mos Def? Did he get caught up in all the movie and TV roles? Or is it all those random guest appearances on Def Poetry Jam? Many fans consider his second album, 2004's The New Danger, to be more about his band, Black Jack Johnson, than his work as a solo artist. Because of that viewpoint, it got a bunch of mixed reviews and receptions. True Magic, his last solo effort, stayed under the radar due to what people perceived as a lack of effort on his part, not just with the rhyming, but also the choices in production. Has Def corrected these mistakes on The Ecstatic? Thankfully, the answer is a triumphant "yes." But don't get too excited. If you were expecting another Black on Both Sides, you're bound to be somewhat disappointed. Then again, if you're coming from that perspective, you might as well expect another classic hip-hop album, which is extremely rare to find in 2009.

The album starts off with a huge blast of an intro, with Oh No's  beat off his Oxperiment tape. The ridiculous Turkish guitar sample ends up working with Def's trademark energetic flow. "Twilite Speedball," the next track with a Neptunes beat and Pharrell's trademark horns, is complemented by Def's co-production, along with a very interesting take lyrically for a beat that really goes all over the place. One thing is for sure. Def's energy is back, but lyrically he's taken a direction that's much more abstract.

The low points of this album, however, do not even detracting that much from an album that was intended to go all over the place with production and overall style. "The Auditorium," has a beat from Madlib's "Beat Konducta in India" series, which is not only a fantastic beat, as well as a great performance from def, but has a surprise Slick Rick appearance at the end of the track that makes a comedic political statement. 

Throughout the rest of the album, the production goes all over the place, from R&B, to classic rock bass lines, to plain old minimalism with really weird voice skits. Def tries his best to create abstract characters and concepts to cook up a certain unique flavor to the album that will automatically make it different than anything else you've likely heard this year.  The album is an acquired taste, but a real grower.

            -- Ben Appell [DJ Benny]