Cover Art of the Week #11: The Ecstatic, Mos Def

Nearly a year has passed since Mos Def released his critically acclaimed album The Ecstatic. This is a lifetime in today’s hip-hop, where truly memorable albums are few and far between. The same goes for cover art. For every Bizarre Ride II Pharcyde, there are a hundred Malice N Wonderlands. Even the genre’s classic albums have seldom been adventurous with their cover art, more often than not barely even interesting, visually. Mos Def, however, has always been of a different breed and we at AUPEO! are still very much in love with The Ecstatic.

His first album, the iconic Black on Both Sides had a striking portrait of the artist himself on the cover, as did The New Danger, his second album, only this time hidden behind a stick-up man’s mask. The third True Magic had a blank cover but again, his face was printed on the disc. This time he has chosen to hide his famous Hollywood face and use a red-tinted shot from a 1977 Charles Burnett film, the neo-realistic classic Killer of Sheep, which portrays African-American lives and culture in Watts, Los Angeles.

The cover stands as an accurate image of Mos Def as an artist and lyricist. After all, he is a versatile MC who isn’t shy to break boundaries. Like the album, the cover is not particularly related to any location or time period but instead is progressive and forward thinking. To put it simply, Mos is not afraid to make a stretch, lyrically or musically. Like Mos Def the artist, the cover is hip-hop without being a photocopy of what he has released in the past. In other words, the leaping man image is a brilliant representation of Mighty Mos as an artist and the music on this fantastic album; experimental but dope and never afraid to take chances.

Killer of Sheep is considered by the Library of Congress “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” and is selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The Ecstatic will never reach the same level of recognition but still has the makings of a classic album. This is why we have featured it in our Hip-Hop Essentials AUPEO! Station, free for you to listen next month at AUPEO!.