The Ecstatic - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The Ecstatic received universal acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 28 reviews. Greg Kot, writing in the Chicago Tribune, said that it is a "return to form for a wayward hip-hop giant" whose reinvigorated commitment makes most of the album successful. Allmusic's Andy Kellman called it "a mind-bending, low-key triumph" with a magnetism and unpolished eccentricity that requires several listens to fully appreciate. In his review for The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin said that the album overcomes its occasionally hurried, extemporaneous feel and coheres because of affective production, Mos Def's melodious voice, and "a lyrical and sonic fascination with life beyond the Western World." Ben Thompson of The Observer found his "analytical skills" impeccable and said that, because of its diverse range of samples, the album serves as both "a crate-digger's wet dream" and "a thrillingly accessible demonstration of hip-hop's limitless creative possibilities" to a layperson. MSN Music's Robert Christgau found the songs "devoid of hooks but full of sounds you want to hear again" and "thoughtfully slurred", yet intelligible lyrics by Mos Def, whose vision warrants the introductory Malcolm X sample.

Pete Cashmore of NME was less enthusiastic in his review and said that it is merely "good". Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson felt that, apart from the "I Wish"-like "Life in Marvelous Times", The Ecstatic lacks song structure and "careens wildly, free from the constraints of chorus and verse". Mick Middles of The Quietus viewed it as the work of an aloof, "rampant" artist and said that the music is "allowed to flow free, for better or worse." Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone found it "mildly strange" and wrote that Mos Def "doesn't maintain quality control during the course of 16 often arty tracks." The magazine later named it the 17th best album of 2009. For the 2009 Grammy Awards, The Ecstatic was nominated in the category of Best Rap Album. The single "Casa Bey" was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance.