Life in marvelous times

At long last, the wait is over! Mos Def has finally released The Ecstatic. It’s quintessential Mos Def, at his best, pure form, rah-rah.

Short of saying, holy !@#$%, this album is genius–this isn’t so much of a review as it is a discourse. And, this isn’t so much about Mos Def, as it is about hip-hop.

I l.o.v.e. hip-hop. And, as you already know, I l.o.v.e design. There are a few parallels here I find especially interesting, and relevant.

Much like design, hip-hop speaks to a culture. The story of hip-hop is the story of society; it’s everybody’s story – yea, yours, and mine, too. I like that, a lot. Akin to design, socially and politically conscious hip-hop is on the rise. What wasn’t so interesting, or meaningful to mainstream culture at one point, is now the most interesting and most meaningful in both design and hip-hop. Also just like design, hip-hop has a certain bravery about it; it challenges the status quo, which seems prerequisite to any type of real change.

I’d argue hip-hop has made greater strides in a shorter amount of time, but design is getting there. A change is gonna come.