![]() It's a 'this is what's really going on' album. Politics as it relates to the struggles of today's common man and personal growth are prevalent topics. True vet.Ĭontent? YOU WILL NOT FIND CLUB HITS ON THIS ALBUM. And although I mostly can't stand rappers who do nothing but preach, I admired how Mos handles spiritual and political conduct without shoving it down your ears. #Mos def the ecstatic cover full#I could talk about this for hours but if you don't believe me, Pistola, History, and Revelations deserve your full ear. When you truly listen, and I mean closed eyes and boppin head listen, you realize the mastery it takes to develop ideas and themes the way Mos does. On the surface it sounds almost relaxed, and I've heard a couple people say (to my shock and disbelief) that it sounds like he freestyled the whole album. Lyrically? "I speak it so clearly sometimes yall don't hear me" seems to be the overall theme of the album. Great beats and a wonderful variety of tempo and feel to each song. Maybe only "Life in Marvelous Times" and "History" feel like they don't belong but that might just be me, and the songs are too good for anyone to be upset. No one song sounds like the other, but the album isn't too experimental to feel scattered or messy. Musically? The arrangements are complex and amazingly sophisticated. There is NOTHING a hip-hop lover cannnot adore about this album. It took a good couple spoonfuls before it hit me, and once you're open to this album the hits go straight to the stomach. ![]() I have to admit I passed it off as mediocre when I listened to it for the first time. Hopefully he'll keep it up for his next album, which is, apparently, a collaboration with Jay Electronica.should be interesting :) In conclusion, you may not hear any of the songs from this album on the radio because of their quirkiness, but let me assure you this is a definite buy for fans of Black Dante, like myself. But all in all, I had to say its a close-to-perfect Mos Def album. The song 'Workers Comp.', for example, seems plain silly to me and doesn't meet the standard of some of the other tracks. Some of the lyrics honestly seem and as if Mos Def was in a rush, and thats really not like him. And that's not just because I am Arabic! haha.no I genuinely think using Arabic and Indian music for samples makes the album feel more abstract and unique. And to top it all off, it ends with a beautifully sad and soothing little piano solo.Īnother thing I like about the album is its use of Eastern samples (mostly provided by the legendary Madlib and his brother Oh No) and weird guitar riffs (check out the Chad Hugo produced 'Twilite Speedball'). ![]() In my opinion, the best track on the album is the closer, 'Casa Bey', because it has a wonderful mix of a fast-paced catchy instrumental that Mos somehow manages to keep up with and lines that jump out at you again and again (You can't stop my go/ I was born to be where I am/ Bright light from a Distant Star). The best line in the album, in my opinion, comes from this song, when Mos says "we are alive in amazing times/ delicate hearts, diabolical minds'. 'Life in Marvelous Times' is a reflective song which sets up the second half of the album, looking briefly at Mos Def's journey from the projects in Bed-Stuy to where he is now. 'Quiet Dog' (produced by Preservation) has an insane percussion beat and Mos Def reminds us why he is considered one of the top MC's in the game. The highs of the album, in my view, are the tracks Quiet Dog (Bite Hard), 'Life in Marvelous Times', 'History' (featuring Talib Kweli) and the closer, 'Casa Bey'. Having bought this album and listened to each track multiple times, I can honestly say its easily his best since Black on Both Sides, but still somewhat short of the extremely high standards he set with his solo debut. After, let's face it, two album flops (especially True Magic), Mos Def has clearly struggled to put out quality music that he blessed us with beforehand (Black Star with Talib Kweli, Black on Both Sides). ![]()
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