The Ecstatic

Mos Def - The Ecstatic
Critic Score
Based on 30 reviews
2009 Ratings: #93 / 923
Year End Rank: #26
User Score
Based on 428 ratings
2009 Rank: #31
Liked by 71 people
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Consequence of Sound

The Ecstatic is artistic, in a time when the genre needs it more than ever.

83
A.V. Club
It's taken a decade, but Def has finally produced a worthy follow-up to his beloved solo debut.
83
Entertainment Weekly

Though his vigor falters toward the end, The Ecstatic remains by far his strongest, most deeply felt work in ages.

80
The Skinny

Not since his Rawkus days of Black on Both Sides has Mos Def sounded quite this hungry.

80
Evening Standard
A musical comeback of any quality is unexpected, let alone one of such varied thrills.
80
The Irish Times

We probably haven’t heard Mos this fired up since 1999’s Black on Both Sides – the rapper is obviously engaged with his material.

80
Spectrum Culture

The Ecstatic is Mos Def maintaining his vigor and skill as an MC while allowing the beats to evolve into new and strange forms.

80
The Observer

The Ecstatic is undoubtedly a crate-digger's wet dream. But far more importantly, it also offers a thrillingly accessible demonstration of hip-hop's limitless creative possibilities.

80
NOW Magazine

The Ecstatic begins with the Middle Eastern/rock-music-influenced Supermagic and doesn't let up on the sound clashes until the very end. Production by Madlib, Oh No, J Dilla, and Mr. Flash (yes, the Ed Banger Records Mr. Flash) keeps The Ecstatic's instrumental canvas as multi-textured and eclectic as they come.

80
Mojo
This is an album that demands careful attention before its meanings and musing reveal themselves, blending apocalyptic visions with occluded celebration.
80
Uncut
Mos Def can still create the year's finest hip hop album.
80
The Guardian
The feeling that Mos has not really moved on since his heyday (he has spent much of the past decade in Hollywood) is palpable. Such is the prevailing quality of the production, however - nowhere more apparent than in the Middle Eastern flavours laid on by Madlib - that it doesn't really seem to matter.
80
Clash
‘The Ecstatic’ is a spectacular return to form for Mos Def, and a belated worthy successor to his phenomenal ‘Black On Both Sides’ debut of a decade ago.
80
Pitchfork
Rapper's first solo album in almost three years is a small-globe statement that jumps stylistically across continents on a hip-hop goodwill-ambassador tour.
80
Sputnikmusic

The Ecstatic is solid from front to back, but it's not always entirely cohesive. The production is uniquely executed, with the beats often focusing more on sample placement than drums and bass, but it's this lack of a low-end that sometimes makes your head nod in backwards directions.

80
SPIN

The Ecstatic is easily his finest full-length since Black on Both Sides, his 1999 solo debut.

80
AllMusic

A mind-bending, low-key triumph, the kind of magnetic album that takes around a dozen spins to completely unpack.

80
PopMatters

The Ecstatic feels like the album Mos has always wanted and intended to make. It’s experimental and progressive without being too left-field and isolating. It’s hip-hop without being a photocopy of what he’s released in the past. Simply put, it’s Mos being Mos: Equal parts oddball and genius, even with his flaws.

80
Drowned in Sound

Outspoken and even prone to some fairly loony conspiracy theorising, The Ecstatic thankfully does not become such a platform, and is a refined selection of strong tracks, which skilfully tread the balance between tight beats and forthright exclamations.

77
Pretty Much Amazing
In our time of extremism, the album is a moderated sampling of styles and themes from around the world and around the genre – hop in and take a ride.
75
FACT Magazine

Overall, this is a return to form that should at the least reintroduce Mos Def to the critical limelight, and remind people that when he wants to be, he’s still one of the best hip-hop MCs around.

74
Coke Machine Glow

He may no longer be the novelistic observer of Black on Both Sides or the fearless explorer of The New Danger, or even the wised-up star of True Magic, but The Ecstatic is still imbued with all that and not making a big deal out of it, perhaps the first truly mature thing Mos Def has ever admitted.

72
Paste
Even the Malcolm X sample that opens the album can’t quell the feeling that Mos’ revolutionary capital is long-since spent, but it’s good to know that he can still save his music, if not the world.
70
Slant Magazine

With leftfield collaborations with Slick Rick on one side and the reedy-feely Georgia Anne Muldrow on the other, The Ecstatic isn’t the concentrated wonder that is Black on Both Sides, but it’s a refreshing bounce back from the precipice of the Land of Sellout.

70
HipHopDX

While The Ecstatic isn’t what its Black On Both Sides ancestor from a decade ago was, it’s easily Mos Def’s best work since then. It has the ambitious free-wheeling that he’s went for in his career since, but with results that let the listener have just as much fun as he is.

70
NME

It’s a surprise and a pleasure to report that much of ‘The Ecstatic’ is – whisper it – simply good, honest hardcore hip-hop given a twist by MD’s slurred, inebriated delivery and use of odd imagery.

60
Rolling Stone

With shadowy beats from Madlib and the late J Dilla, plus dense rhymes about Darwin and a rough Brooklyn upbringing, Mos Def's fourth solo album is both mildly strange and a clear step up from his dismally undercooked 2007 record, True Magic.

60
Under the Radar
For the first time in nearly a decade, Mos appears genuinely eager to please, singing and rapping like he didn’t just roll out of bed. He’s rusty, though, and his rhymes lack clarity and the forceful, charismatic delivery of his stunning late-’90s work.
60
Record Collector
There’s plenty here, but not a great deal sticks. Perhaps he’s just trying too hard to prove that, in music, as in his career, he can be all things.
Rollo_P
83

YOU ARE HIDING A (good) ALBUM, LET THAT RECORD COME HOME

DEADBEAT MOTHERFUCKER PLAYING BORDER PATROL, YUGGGH

Joooosh
97

Mos Def's last album before changing his name to Yasiin Bey, The Ecstatic, is a testament to the rapper's incredible talent and skill. It's a masterful blend of old-school production and modern flow that showcases Mos Def's lyrical genius. On tracks like "History" and "Casa Bey," Mos Def shines with his signature delivery and intricate wordplay. The album also features incredible production from Madlib, Preservation, The Neptunes, and J Dilla that brings the music to life in ... read more

FACEMOVIES
100

My bigger reviews kinda flop but who cares? Im gonna write down my thoughts and hope that more people get to listen to this album (maybe make some people also relisten).

Everyone knows the feeling where it just feels like that you lived through the present situation before. Its called Deja Vu. But did you ever had the same feeling by remembering everything while listening to music? - I had and that feeling gave me one album. Welcome to my favourite solo album by Mos Def:

**𝚃𝙷𝙴 ... read more

ScoopTime
84

The Ecstatic is the comeback Mos Def needed, yet it feels like no one knows about this project because of how hard to access it is. This project comes just 10 years after Black on Both Sides, Mos Def's genre defining debut after his short stint with Black Star. This album is surprisingly versatile as there is even a song spoken in Spanish that is surprisingly well done even for such a drastic genre switch. The album oozes so much creativity as each song truly feels like it has its' own ... read more

RKade
92

It's a crime that Spotify removed this from streaming.

orangedoranges
NR

Taking a note to listen to this. Might listen to his first album before this, but from what songs I can remember this was very good.

Purchasing The Ecstatic from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement

Track List

1Supermagic
2:32
91
2Twilite Speedball
3:02
84
3Auditorium
4:34
99
4Wahid
1:39
84
5Priority
1:22
88
6Quiet Dog Bite Hard
2:57
82
7Life in Marvelous Times
3:41
81
8The Embassy
2:45
85
9No Hay Nada Mas
1:42
82
10Pistola
3:02
85
11Pretty Dancer
3:31
87
12Workers Comp.
2:02
81
13Revelations
2:03
85
14Roses
3:41
90
15History
2:21
94
16Casa Bey
4:32
93
Total Length: 45 minutes
Sign in to comment
4w
1mo
1mo
8mo