Mos Def

Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and MC known by the stage name Mos Def. Regarded as one of the most insightful artists of our time, musician, activist and actor Mos Def has captured the attention of critics and audiences alike with a celebrated body of work that has crossed all artistic genres—from music to the Broadway stage, film and television. Mos Def started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, who released the album Black Star in 1998. He was a major force in the late 1990s underground hip hop explosion spearheaded by Rawkus Records. As a solo artist he has released the albums Black on Both Sides in 1999, The New Danger in 2004, and True Magic in 2006.

The Ecstatic, his fourth solo effort, was released June 9, 2009 on Downtown Records. The album was recorded during 2007 to 2009, and production was handled by J Dilla, Mr. Flash, Madlib, Mos Def, Oh No, Preservation, and The Neptunes. The Ecstatic features samples of several diverse musical styles, including soul, Afrobeat, jazz, funk, and Latin music, and has been noted by music writers for its "out-of-the-crates" samples.