![]() 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. 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. this could catch on.A little over 10 years ago Mos Def’s star was firmly in the ascent. Pete Fowler's vinyl toys for the Super Furry Animals, Green Day Converse shoes, David Bowie coloured contact lenses, Black-Eyed Peas toilet roll. We'd love to see more of these avatars: physical representations of a virtual album. And the CD.Įven if you do stick to the CD format, you can even leave out the music, as Danger Mouse proved recently. Meanwhile, Tool drummer Josh Freese offered a range of packages with his Since 1972 album: $7 got you a CD, $50 got you the CD and five minutes on the phone with Josh, and if you spend $75,000 Josh gives you his drum kit, puts together a five-song EP about your life and becomes your personal assistant for a month. Each nifty-gifty set included the download of the album itself, and a giant poster of a psychedelic horse. Mr Def may be the biggest name to get shirty, but he's not the first: last year, neon quirkpopsters Of Montreal released the Skeletal Lamping long-player in the form of a CD, vinyl LP, tote bag, t-shirt, badge set, paper lantern and wall decal set. Digital music has freed artists from the shackles of the physical form, which means you can package your album however you like. ![]() It'll be available on 7 July for $40 (£25), or you can listen now at /mosdef. The idea began with a $60 (£36) compilation mix t-shirt by LnA clothing, Downtown Music and Invisble DJ, who are now stitching up The Ecstatic. The t-shirt features the album cover on the front, a tracklisting on the back, and a code on the tag to download the actual music. The Ecstatic will be downloadable with a special code when you buy the garment. Rapper, actor and former Bill Cosby sidekick Mos Def is to release his latest album on a t-shirt.
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