The Ecstatic Tour - Mos Def/Jay Electronica Review Pt.2 – The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA

(continued from pt.1)
After the tone was set, a flurry of beats, breaks, and samples followed, provided by DJ Preservation with his brother/deejay Abdul Rahman (aka Gold Medal Man) mostly holding down the instrumentals. The chemistry between Mos and his two deejays gave the performance a well rehearsed, but fresh feel to it, with the dopest interludes: a call and response/improvisational drum vs. deejay set, classic soul, blues, and a reggae set that transformed the dancefloor into an ocean of bodies swaying back and forth..all interspersed between each classic track after the next. Highlight tracks for me were The Auditorium and Ghetto Rock where I was literally on the verge of jumping on someone’s back - my apologies again to the folks whose feet I stepped on lol. Honorable mentions: Quiet Dog, Umi Says, Miss Fat Booty, and of course Casa Bey.

Another noteworthy part of the show was Mos’ paying homage to some of our ancestors/pioneers in music, James Brown, Michael Jackson, and Fela Kuti, to name a few. Showmanship, respect for the fans, and an overall love for the music was written all over his face throughout his entire set.

After the show Jay came and chatted with the Birmingham crew and even shared a photo of his and Erykah Badu’s beautiful baby daughter. You could see this brother’s face light up like the proud father that he is.
Big up to Sharrif for introducing us to Mos, who was cool enough to meet with us after the amount of energy he had already given us in his performance. What was even cooler was that he had his family on board with him for the tour: Moms, Dad, brother, and relatives all in tow.

Overall, the show was well worth the price, time, and travel to Atlanta. It’s always refreshing to see (in person) that real hip hop is pushing forward on a local, national and international level.

Big up to the Malcolm's Reading Room crew and the rest of the Birmingham crew who came out to the show!

Photo Courtesy of Simone Snelling