Mos Def - The Ecstatic [2LP Clear Red]

Mos Def's The Ecstatic is the sound of a great rapper rediscovering his joy, and this clear red 2LP pressing is a fine match for its famous red-tinted cover.

By 2009 he had drifted toward acting, and his previous album had come and gone with little fanfare. Signing to the independent Downtown label, he recorded mostly at the Record Plant in Los Angeles with a crew of adventurous producers, several from the Stones Throw orbit. He borrowed the title from Victor LaValle's novel, and the album reached the top ten of the Billboard 200.

The beats pull from Afrobeat, soul, Latin and Middle Eastern records, often in loose, unusual time signatures. Oh No's "Supermagic" bursts open with frantic energy, Madlib's "Auditorium" pairs Mos with a sly, storytelling Slick Rick, and Mr. Flash's "Life in Marvelous Times" looks the late-2000s world square in the eye. "History" brings Talib Kweli back to his side over a J Dilla beat, a warm reunion for the Black Star duo.

Lyrically he roams across politics, faith, love and war with a global, internationalist outlook, rapping and singing with obvious delight.

Counted among the best albums of the 2000s on more than one end-of-decade list, it remains a high point for the artist now known as Yasiin Bey.