Mos def the ecstatic rap genius1/1/2023 "Auditorium" featuring SLICK RICK came up first, an early contender for song of the year. Apple must be getting a bit too clever, because iTunes decided to randomly sequence the songs in order of quality. So how helpful did the shuffle test prove to be? Very. Fine, he might still stray on "The Ecstatic" but it feels more restrained, and thankfully the album clocks in at only 45 minutes. Part of the problem with his diminishing relationship with hip hop fans is his insistence on half-singing: but listeners generally want you to COMMIT to whatever you choose, so either sing properly, even if you're shit ("Umi Says"), or not at all ("Beef"). Secondly, at least Mos is taking his rhymes a bit more seriously, and, depending on your POV, he doesn't sing too much. There are a couple of initial pointers to take away from "The Ecstatic" - the first being that Def has tried to release an album with a "global" feel to it, so be prepared for samples galore from Indian and Arabic music, trips to South America, Europe and, occasionally, the USA. It hasn't really worked out that well, though, has it? This year has reached the halfway point, and it all seemed so promising. For him to be still rated so highly is somewhat miraculous, especially when combined with his continued assault on Hollywood. Yes, he released a classic, but in the next decade, his second album was somewhat overrated and his third was so poor, it almost rendered him simply over as a hip hop entity. For what it is worth, it took me a long time to digest "Black On Both Sides" - although, over the course of a year, friends continually rammed it down my eardrums, I was too taken with Common's "Like Water For Chocolate" which was released just a few months after BOBS. If it drastically improves or reduces your listening experience, then you will find out the truth about what you REALLY THINK about the LP, not what you HOPED it would be.Īnd that is what I needed to do with "The Ecstatic" - Mos Def's latest "return-to-form" comeback. Press the "Shuffle" button, and see what happens. It doesn't always work, but it is an interesting acid test for certain bodies of work. There is a very valuable little trick - sorry, "method" - that I occasionally deploy if I'm undecided about an album.
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