“ Get smart with your smartness. Too busy survivin’ to argue ‘bout Darwin, darlin’ ”

Mos Def – The Ecstatic (Downtown: June, 2009)

In university I became more interested in hip-hop but I would not for a minute consider myself anywhere close to an expert on hip-hop music. I was more interested with the things that surrounded hip-hop music, i.e. the history of the oppressed, inner-city realities, and the attitudes of (predominantly) young men. Needless to say, I always put a priority on hip-hop that delivered sharp and insightful lyrics, was politically charged, and told a story rather than had "killer sample." There were many artists that I truly enjoyed for this reason alone, Mos Def being one of them.

Mos Def is a somewhat polarizing figure that much of mainstream society simply cannot handle. He is outspoken and articulate (almost enough in itself), he is a Muslim (again), and he is politically conscious hip-hop artist with a chip on his soldier (and for good reason). He has appeared in feature films, on talk shows, and in several television series but it’s not his work on the screen that is most impressive. His most inspiring work involves his collaboration with Talib Kweli as Blackstar and his own amazing solo work, the latest of which is called The Ecstatic...


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