Disco de Mos Def: “Ecstatic”

the beats are dense and spooky. mos' flow is at times aggressive and ominous. but this is not supposed to be an easy album to listen too. Mos Def has created an album reflecting the times we live in. and for listeners brave enough to keep their ears open and and absorb multiple listens, the depth, beauty, and ecstasy of The Ecstatic will slowly begin to unfold and reveal itself. this album belongs to a newer, complex breed of 'art hip-hop' that requires the attention of a jazz album. while reception may be a tiny bit lukewarm today, 10 years from now, we will remember The Ecstatic as one of the most important hip hop discs of our time.

Mos made GREAT Music with this album. Is it his typical spittin' fire lyrically, probably not? Did the album push Hip Hop to new areas without compromising the true essence of hip hop MOS DEFinitely? The music, lyrics, vocals and Slick Rick/Talib collaborations just worked well with this album. Every song is on point.

I love this album. Not my FAVORITE Mos Def album but if you like his style and realness and REAL lyrics that go beyond the normal BS u hear these days then cop this album!! I can listen to it over and over and over. It does not dissapoint. Love love love Mos!!!!

One of my favorite albums! Experimental and masterful all at once. Mos Def is more lyrical on this album than I ever expected!

After a three year hiatus, Mos Def released his new album in 2009. "The Ecstatic" is his first effort on the indie label Downtown Records, which is also home to Gnarls Barkley and Santigold. This album is also his first to not carry a Parental Advisory sticker, as there is no profane language to be found anywhere. Unlike most of his albums in the past that reflected his eclecticism, this album is a straight-up hip hop record with the production being handled primarily by Preservation, Madlib and Madlib's younger brother Oh No. There are no instrumental songs, no rock songs and he barely even sings. In fact, on the song "Roses", Georgia Anne Muldrow does most of the singing. On the J. Dilla produced "History", he is joined by fellow Black Star member Talib Kweli giving way to a possible Black Star reunion. The Neptunes, who previously produced "Murder Of A Teenage Life" on 2006's "True Magic" return for the foot-stomper "Twilite Speedball". The long-absent Slick Rick steals the show with his cameo on the album's best song "Auditorium". Mos even tries his hand at performing an entire song in Spanish on "No Hay Nada Mas" and closes the album with "Casa Bey" which is also the lead off single. Although this is a great album, it's also pretty short being that quite a bit of songs are around the two minute range. Still in all, it's worth checking out for anyone who thought Mos let movies and the Hollywood scene get to him.