Song of the Day - Mos Def (feat. Slick Rick): "Auditorium"

I'll be honest. I thought Mos Def was starting to lose his magic back in 2004 when he released the lackluster Black on Both Sides follow-up The New Danger. Then two years later True Magic essentially confirmed my suspicion. Of course, now that he is free from his deal with Geffen Records (which would never have happened without the demise of Rawkus) he returns from the dead with The Ecstatic (subtle enough?), his most inspired music in ten years.

While almost every song is solid, "Auditorium" is without a doubt the standout track. Using an absolutely devastating beat from Madlib's Beat Konducta in India as his foundation, Mos lays down some of his best rhymes in a decade, boasting with urgency "My presence speak volumes before I say a word/I'm everywhere/Penthouse, pavement, and curb" before eventually giving way to Slick Rick. Mr. Rick proceeds to do what no other MC has ever done better, tell a story. In this case, about an Iraqi soldier who's losing patience with the American occupation. Mixed together it makes for a lethal combination that should make the doubters take notice.

Mos Def (feat. Slick Rick) - "Auditorium" (from The Ecstatic)