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• MOS DEF THE ECSTATIC SAMPLE TV

“Quiet Dog”, another Madlib joint – which symbolically excerpts Fela Kuti’s interview from the Music is a Weapon documentary – is a funky explosion of upbeat percussion. Give me my oil, get the f**k out of my country!” The exchange continues until SR teaches “the kid to rap” so he becomes “the Elvis of Baghdad”.īut this is the only distraction from Mos Def’s otherwise all conquering star role. The Ruler lays it down in true raconteur style “I’m a soldier in the middle of Iraq,/say about noonish coming out the whip/looking at me curious a young Iraqi kid, carrying laundry, what’s wrong G? Hungry?/No. Where Mos reminds, and probes the listener he’s “feeling great, feeling good, how are you?”Īlbum highlights include “Auditorium”, 1 of 2 tracks on the album given a re-edit from Madlibs ‘Beat Konducta in India’ series, all lethargic Eastern strings and snares that sound tailor made for guest vocalist Slick Rick. The album starts proper with hard horns and head nodding credentials fully intact on the Chad Hugo produced “Twilite Speedball”. Pulling together a stellar cast of support including Chad Hugo, Mr Flash, Preservation, J Dilla and brothers Madlib and Oh No on the boards. So, onto ‘The Ecstatic’, an album I’m pleased to report sees a revitalised Mos Def back to his ‘Black on Both Sides’ best. Yet perversely his album washed over most in a tide of anonymity, with the man himself choosing to release the CD without promotion or cover art. Though the truth is that Mos Def didn’t alienate fans because of his politics in ‘The New Danger’ but rather his conceptual attempts as an artist (which he undoubtedly is) in collaborating with the likes of Gary Miller from Bad Brains over punk rock tracks, whereas the purists wanted him to drop knowledge over beats by Hi-Tek and Premier.īy the time of his third release, ‘True Magic’ 2 years later Mos was firmly established in Hollywood as the go to guy to attract an urban demographic. Although a veiled reference to Israeli-American record executive Lyor Cohen (the “tall Israeli running this rap shit”, who was then head of The Island Def Jam Music Group) is a more likely reason behind the tracks exclusion. One song causing particular controversy, “The Takeover”, which was removed in the US due to ‘sample issues’ according to then-label, Geffen. His sophomore record, ‘The New Danger’, bared little resemblance to the buoyant feel of his debut, instead it was a fairly turgid musical experimentation bogged down by political rants. Frustratingly for Mos’s many fans that first fell for him via his music there was a 5-year break between solo albums.

This culminated in a big-budget turn in The Italian Job and the critically acclaimed Broadway show Top Dog/Underdog in 2002.

Slowly, as ever, Hollywood became aware of this talented young New York MC/actor with a magnetic charm and the studios soon came calling.

MOS DEF THE ECSTATIC SAMPLE TV

Consequently he became the poster boy for ‘conscious hip-hop’, due to his excellent solo debut ‘Black On Both Sides’ and the eponymous release as one half of Black Star with Talib Kweli.Īfter the collapse of Rawkus records, Mos returned to his passion for acting, appearing in several straight to TV films and theatre productions. Soulful, boombap productions coupled with a highly dexterous yet eloquent delivery of intelligent lyrics completed his signature sound. A little over 10 years ago Mos Def’s star was firmly in the ascent.