Mos Def: The Ecstatic (Colored Vinyl) Vinyl 2LP

The way I feel sometimes its too hard to sit still / things are so passionate, times are so real– cant think of a more important time to repress this record than right now.Mos Defsets himself apart from the rest of the post-Rawkusset by constantly tearing up the rulebook and thinking outside of the box, tapping into blues rock on 2004sThe New Dangerand usingJuveniles Nolia Clap as a vehicle fora spine-tingling indictment of the Bush Administration on 2006sTrue Magic. For his fourth (and at time of writing, most recent) solo full-length, Mos reaches into the underground and scoops up cultStones ThrowbeatsmithsMadlib,Oh NoandGeorgia Anne Muldrow. In 2017, this sort of cross-pollination is commonplace, but in 2009,Moswas a movie star, and him tappingMadlibfor beats was a huge deal (seven whole years before Lib had a credit on aKanyerecord).The Neptunes contribution (Twilite Speedball, rumored to be a rareChad Hugosolo production) sounds right at home next toMadlibs beats for Auditorium (feat.Slick Rick) and Wahid, two of the albums toughest records. Other highlights include Pretty Dancer, Casa Bey and theDilla-produced History featuringBlack StarhomieTalib Kweli.Mosleaps from raw spit to neo-soul croon (Roses) and bodega serenade (No Hay Nada Mas) as effortlessly as the man on the sleeve leaps between two buildings (a still fromCharles Burnetts 1978 filmKiller of Sheep). With original copies going for up to $400 (yes, really), this double vinyl repress is paramount (and it’s very necessary, get it clearly). 2018 clear colored vinyl pressing. Recommended.

• clear coloredvinyl pressing
• limited edition
• music label: Downtown Music 2018

reviewed by hannibal chew 10/2017

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