![]() ![]() And despite this not showcasing a hungry Mos Def that some may have been hoping for, it still garners fantastic results: the one versed “Priority” sees him effortlessly surfing over fluid keys by producer Preservation, and “Auditorium” sees him in his element alongside Slick Rick, whose silky flow is just as endearing as it was on “Children’s Story” two decades ago. Mos seems to be spending a lot of his time here simply enjoying his craft, and doing what he’s great at: using his lively, ecstatic delivery to drop nuggets of knowledge, slices of imagery, and inspirational quips. “Life In Marvelous Times” insists to listeners that despite a war and a depression, that times now are as great or as bad as they’ve always been–“ We are alive in amazing times/delicate hearts, diabolical minds/revelatio ns, hatred, love and war…not more or less than ever before, it’s just too much more for your mind to absorb.”) But outside of that and a couple others, topically/conceptually potent efforts like “New World Water,” “Mathematics” and “Habitat” aren’t the meat of this album. Sure, Mos uses some tracks on The Ecstatic to convince fans that he’s still able to channel his immense talent toward relevant topics. Let’s be clear: Mos Def is not as focused here as he was on Black On Both Sides. But Mos Def‘s new album, which is set for a release date that sits 10 years after that of Both Sides, is called The Ecstatic: a title that many die-hard fans hope is an indication that Black Dante is excited about rhyming again. Meanwhile, Mos‘ acting career picked up steam arguably the same way his rap career did during his early days with Rawkus Records, as he earned numerous award nominations for his roles in movies and plays alike. The New Danger showed the Brooklyn emcee experimenting with Rock & Roll more than he was rhyming, and despite flashes of brilliance, 2006’s recalled True Magic sounded (and looked, with its lack of artwork) uninspired. But Mos has been Windex clear from the jump: he’s good at spitting that raw, but he’s got loftier artistic goals. Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt or Nas’ Illmatic), Mos Def has two classics to constantly live up to: his seminal Black Star album with partner-in-rhyme Talib Kweli, and his flawless solo debut Black On Both Sides. While virtually all of Hip Hop’s stars are critiqued for not recreating their memorable introductions (i.e. ![]()
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