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Mos Def-Estatic release June 9, 2009

Mos Def’s latest effort entitled Ecstatic is his first studio effort since 2006.  As stated in a previous post with a wide range of producers for him to flow to. Search Mos Def or click his name in the tags below this post.

1. Supermagic – Pro-Black, seventies sounding song.  Starts off with him saying the main Islamic Prayer.  Song is a bit heavy on the Islam.  Even has an arab song sample in it. Nice guitar riff, song drags a bit.

2. Twilite Speedball – This song has a really hard core beat and Mos is flowing lovely over the track with his awesome anyway flow.  The horn on this beat is so raw, this is one of the best songs on the CD.

3. Auditorium feat Slick Rick – String heavy track is dope.  Mos is being Mos on this one.  Great flow as usual, but he must have thought hard about who his guest would be on this track.  Slick Rick’s flow was perfect for this particular beat.  Very nice song, another Middle Eastern inspired song.

4. Wahid – Wow, you can really hear the Mid-Eastern theme coming through in this album.  Beat isn’t so hot, especially after hearing “Twilite Speedball.”  Song is a bit boring, beat isn’t bad it just isn’t very hot.

5. Priority – Nice mello beat with great horn section.  Good rhymes and antics over the track.  Good song, nice classic Mos Def rhymes.

6. Quiet Dog Bite Hard – Starts off Pro-Black, I love it there’s not much of that left.  But when the beat comes in, OMG, so dope.  Very jungle sounding beat while Mos Def gets jungle over the tracks, no doubt makes you want to dance to this.  This is another great song so far off this album.  Club banger right here.

7. Life In Marvelous Times – Head-nodders beat, with some hypeness added to it.  Sounds like a very industry beat, but Mos doesn’t change his style up for no reason.  He killed the beat, love his lyrics, has a lot of intelligent things to say.

8. The Embassy – I guess you would call this a skit.  It starts off with a airline flight anouncement that becomes disturbing towards the end.  Then breaks into this beat that pretty much made me start seeing colors.  I don’t really know what to think of this song.

9. No Hay Nada Mas – I imagine this is an example of Mos Def’s inner Latino coming out.  Yeah I don’t get it, the song is in spanish.  The beat is wack, uh yeah that’s all I have to say about that (sound real Forest Gump-like)

10. Pistola – Pretty cool song, has a message to it.  Beat and hook leave a little to be desired.  Not bad, Mos is singing very soulfully.

11. Pretty Danger – Nice 70 samples and jazz tone to the beat.  The beat is very eclectic to a point where it’s mad hot.  Mos is flowing and going off on the track.  He gets very soulful with the melody towards the end.  Word play is pretty awesome on this song.  But his word play is great through out the whole album.

12. Workers Comp – He starts off sounding funny on this song.  Very stringy, very Premier-sounding beat.  It’s lovely, Mos Def sounds like a combination of Reggae, Soul and backpack rap.  Pretty good combination.

13. Revelations – Beat is very funky, bassline is murder!  70′s samples work wonderfully with this beat.  His flow is supreme over this beat.  The more I listen to this album the more I’m thinking the Prince of Hip Hop.  Almost everything is sounding good, but not your average Hip Hop format.  Beyond the hot 16.

14. Roses feat Georgia Anne Muldrow – Here’s some more eclectic music, with a super-soulful Georgia Anne Muldrow singing over the Jazz piano beat.  Mos is singing, not in a Jah Rule way, more like a Prince or Deangelo way.  Kind of works for this song, maybe he should look into making a strictly soul album for his next joint.

15. History feat Talib Kweli – Not a bad song feat Talib, Rhymes are OK, beat is a bit bland.

16. Casa Bey – Another funky-ass beat for that ass to get up to.  Niceness, plus his flow is moving no doubt in the right direction on this track.  I love it, it’s so 70′s and really funky.  Mos Def got mad Brooklyn with his flow.

Album as a whole, I’ll give it a 78%, he could’ve gotten higher, especially with the mix of Mid-East and 70′s sound over up to date rhymes worked except for a few weak efforts and a bit too off the wall songs.  But I would not feel bad to pay for this album.