Plus, its the very thing that makes him stand above his piers. The Ruler raps over the sultry 60s Bond style ' Auditorium' with its haphazard French excerpts, while former Black Star bandmate Talib Kweli joins him on slick soul number ' History', produced by the late and highly influential hip hop producer J Dilla. The Ecstatic can be challenging in places, but Mos Def always knows not to push it too far. There are albums that are lyrical artistry at its finest and then you have decent rap albums like whatever Drakes was called that won a Grammy for over the Ecstatic. Musical styles adopted include disco, electro, Spanish folk, reggae and a substantial amount of Indian traditional music, while quotes from Malcolm X and Femi Kuti give a sense of insight and profundity, whether you agree with their sentiment or not.Ī plethora of producers and guest appearances surely add to the sense of diversity here.

Symptomatic of their genre, these songs are bass heavy, and, on tracks like the standout ' Quiet Dog Bite Hard', prioritise rhythm over melody. was something of a gimmicky move, but give it a listen and you might just forgive him. Mos Def took three steps back and took on board a holistic view. You listen to this and wonder how it sits with Obama conservatism, let alone that of hip hops glittery illuminati. Sure, the decision to release ' The Ecstatic' via T-Shirt in the U.S. The Ecstatic begins with a clip of Malcolm X talking about meeting extremism with extreme methods and how he will join with anybody to make an extreme change. Almost as respected for his acting career as for his musical one (you may have seen him rock'n'rolling as Chuck Berry in Cadillac Records), the Brooklyn MC is now on solo album number four. Pretty Flaco, Dante, the Boogie Man, and so. Check out The REcstatic (Remix Album), a new mixtape from Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) that saw the light of day. His acting roles aside, it’s been about two-and-a-half years since we last heard from the Mighty Mos Def, a.k.a. If you think hip hop is all murdered samples and lyrics about money and hos, then Mos Def could teach you a thing or two. You know people think theyre getting militant when Malcolm X quotes start getting thrown. Yasiin Beys tour DJ Preservation reworks his excellent 2009 album The Ecstatic.

Mos def the ecstatic malcolm x quote