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. The rapper-actor doesn't maintain quality control during the course of 16 often arty tracks. But you could make a solid mix from Ecstatic's best moments, tossing in the Middle Eastern-flavored "Auditorium" and the very catchy "Quiet Dog," where Mos quotes "Rapper's Delight" over hand-clap-laden shuffle. And in "Life in Marvelous Times," a bit of steely electro, he makes a strong point: Despite rampant calamities, the times we live in are far from boring.

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CHRISTIAN HOARD

(Posted: May 26, 2009)