Search - Mos Def :: The Ecstatic

And it keeps growing...

Anysia Pereira | 06/06/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a repeat listen album. I have to admit I passed it off as mediocre when I listened to it for the first time. It took a good couple spoonfuls before it hit me, and once you're open to this album the hits go straight to the stomach.



There is NOTHING a hip-hop lover cannnot adore about this album.

Musically? The arrangements are complex and amazingly sophisticated. No one song sounds like the other, but the album isn't too experimental to feel scattered or messy. Maybe only "Life in Marvelous Times" and "History" feel like they don't belong but that might just be me, and the songs are too good for anyone to be upset. Great beats and a wonderful variety of tempo and feel to each song.



Lyrically? "I speak it so clearly sometimes yall don't hear me" seems to be the overall theme of the album. On the surface it sounds almost relaxed, and I've heard a couple people say (to my shock and disbelief) that it sounds like he freestyled the whole album. When you truly listen, and I mean closed eyes and boppin head listen, you realize the mastery it takes to develop ideas and themes the way Mos does. I could talk about this for hours but if you don't believe me, Pistola, History, and Revelations deserve your full ear. And although I mostly can't stand rappers who do nothing but preach, I admired how Mos handles spiritual and political conduct without shoving it down your ears. True vet.



Content? YOU WILL NOT FIND CLUB HITS ON THIS ALBUM. Politics as it relates to the struggles of today's common man and personal growth are prevalent topics. It's a 'this is what's really going on' album. Still doesn't mean you can't enjoy dancing to Quiet Dog, Pretty Dancer, and Casa Bey...



Flow? It's a very familiar Mos, and while it may be a more serious tone than past albums, you still hear the energy in his voice where it's appropriate. It's a formula that needs no tweaking, and in my opinion if it ain't broke don't fix it. Only surprise comes in when he starts rapping in spanish...which in my opinion is just so freeking cool. Such a chill badass.



Guest appearances? Not too many, but then again random artists featured on every single song always annoyed me. The most substantive appearances are in the actual production of the songs, and the exclusivity makes it all the more Def. He didn't compromise quality for quantity, and to me it feels more intimate that way.



I could go on forever...but this has become a hands-down favorite of mine. If you're still on the fence, I promise it will grow on you. My only complaint is that by the time you start to fully enjoy the song, it ends! But then again short albums always prompted guiltless playbacks =]..."