Background
Speaking as a person with little experience listening to rap music, I can say that this is an album that can be heard by those who would not consider themselves fans of hip hop so that they can remember what hip hop is when one isn’t listening to the radio. Mos Def has crafted an album that is complex and listenable.
I never really listened to much hip hop music other than what was played on the radio and what I picked up from friends who did. While I have knowledge of some of the history of hip hop (Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, Public Enemy), these days radio hip hop, like most anything in the radio, is more likely to make my eyes glaze over in boredom than to invite me to explore the genre. So it is with this non-background in hip hop that I decided to dive in on the deep side of the pool and review Mos Def’s new album The Ecstatic. An album I figured would be like the hip hop I associate with positive things like skate tapes and Spike Lee films.
The Ecstatic is Mos Def’s fourth solo album but he is just as likely to be recognized as the actor who starred in films like Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and Be Kind Rewind. His socially conscious style of hip hop had been eclipsed by gangasta rap when he released his first album in 1998 but he has been able to achieve notoriety in the genre.
The Album
The album is great. The lyrics he spits out are witty. There is none of the posturing heard on other rap albums here. He tackles subjects like the Iraq war and modern consumerism and references Mary Poppins and E.T. The beats are simple and original. There is no sampling of whole songs here. Most of the time Mos is satisfied rhyming accompanied two or three track beat, but when even paired with producers like Mr. Flash or The Neptunes his lyrics stand out along with the music. My favorite tracks off this album are Life In Marvelous Times, Supermagic, and No Hay Nada Mas. In Life In Marvelous Times, Mos Def raps about growing up in the 80s in the Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bedstuy) neighborhood of New York. He is accompanied by great production work from Mr. Flash. Supermagic shows off some of the middle eastern influences that permeate the entire album and shows off Mos’ playful lyric work. In No Hay Nada Mas, Mos Def does a capable job of rapping in spanish. The beat is of hispanic influence too as it reminded me of work by Cafe Tacuba.
by Neto
The Decision (4/5)
Like I said, the album is a great listen for someone who has little experience with hip hop and an open mind. There are some tracks that left me cold at first but grew on me (Roses) a track that never caught my attention (Pretty Dancer) but most of it was gold. Even Casa Bey which might be the most mainstream (or Kanye-like if you will) track of the album was a good listen. Generally, for someone more inclined to listen to Radiohead than to
The Roots, it is a good reminder of what is being missed.
Artist: Mos Def
Album: The Ecstatic
Label: Downtown
Release Date: June 9, 2009
Decision: 4/5 A Great Listen
Favorite Tunes: “Life In Marvelous Times”, ”Supermagic”, “No Hay Nada Mas”
1. Background
Speaking as a person with little experience listening to rap music, I can say that this is an album that can be heard by those who would not consider themselves fans of hip hop so that they can remember what hip hop is when one isn’t listening to the radio. Mos Def has crafted an album that is complex and listenable.
I never really listened to much hip hop music other than what was played on the radio and what I picked up from friends who did. While I have knowledge of some of the history of hip hop (Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, Public Enemy), current radio hip hop, like most anything on the radio, is more likely to make my eyes glaze over in boredom than to invite me to explore the genre. So, it is with this non-background in hip hop that I decided to dive in on the deep side of the pool and review Mos Def’s new album The Ecstatic, an album I figured would be like the hip hop I associate with positive things, like skate tapes and Spike Lee films. (more…)
