Entertainment, Music - Army Times

‘Ecstatic’ elevates Def’s game

Mos Def, The Ecstatic

3½ stars out of 4

Comment: HIP-HOP WITH A SOUL

Fans have been waiting nearly a decade for a worthy follow-up to Mos Def’s debut “Black on Both Sides,” and he delivers with his most sharply focused effort to date.

In the intervening years, he’s probably drawn more critical acclaim for his acting than his interesting but inconsistent music. But he fully realizes his promise as one of hip-hop’s most contemplative rappers on his first album since 2006’s scantly promoted “True Magic.”

The varied, muscular rhythms of “The Ecstatic” — provided by producers Madlib, Oh No, Preservation and the late J Dilla — underpin Mos Def’s insightful musings on love, politics, religion and social conditions.

“Tell the tough guys we tougher than tough times, and nerves don’t snap when the clock cuts crunch time,” he rhymes on the auspicious “Workers Comp.” On first single “Life in Marvelous Times,” he starts out describing his impoverished Bed-Stuy upbringing where “our green grass was brown” and then eases into the present, where despite all the ills, there are “wonders on every side.”

Guest stars are few, but they all give standout performances. The Ruler (Slick Rick) enlivens the hypnotic “Auditorium” while Georgia Anne Muldrow blesses the gorgeous “Roses.” Black Star partner Talib Kweli joins him on “History,” on which they recall their collaboration and lasting bond.

As Mos Def cultivates his career in Hollywood, he’ll hopefully continue to pour this kind of heart and soul into his music as well. That would be something to surely keep rap fans ecstatic. — Steve Jones

Download: Aforementioned tracks, “Quiet Dog,” “Casa Bey”

Consider: “Supermagic,” “Twilite Speedball”