"The Ecstatic" by Mos Def

(Downtown Records)

This week Mos Def released his fourth solo album The Ecstatic. In my review I discussed how this marked a promising return to something closer to the promise that he showed on his solo debut Black on Both Sides (1999), while also leaving something to be desired for his next projects. On The Ecstatic Mos balances the rock interests that dominated his second album The New Danger with his true-school hip hop style. There were times when his habit of singing his way out of a song sapped the album's energy, and hopefully he'll soon abandon such third rate Andre 3000 imitations. Still, The Ecstatic is easily Mos' second-best album, and proves that he's still capable of terrific hip hop (something that his last album, the atrocious True Magic, had left me doubting). Click here to read the whole review.