The Ecstatic

The Ecstatic is the fourth studio album by American rapper Mos Def. It was produced by J Dilla, Mr. Flash, Madlib, Mos Def, Oh No, Preservation, and The Neptunes. Its music has been characterized by critics as conscious and alternative hip hop with global influences.

When The Ecstatic was released by Downtown Records on June 9, 2009, it received widespread critical acclaim and debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200, selling 39,000 copies in its first week. It was named one of 2009's best albums in critics' year-end lists and remained Mos Def's highest charting album in the United States, where it had sold 168,000 copies by 2014.

Background

In a podcast interview with Anthony DeCurtis at the 92nd Street Y, Mos Def stated that he named the album after the book The Ecstatic by Victor LaValle. The album features collaborations with Slick Rick, Talib Kweli and Georgia Anne Muldrow, as well as production by Mr. Flash and the late J Dilla. The album cover is taken from Charles Burnett's 1978 film, Killer of Sheep.

Mos Def

Yasiin Bey (/jæˈsiːn ˈbeɪ/; born Dante Terrell Smith Bey; December 11, 1973), better known by his former stage name Mos Def (/ˈmoʊs ˈdɛf/), is an American hip hop recording artist, actor, comedian, and activist from Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Best known for his music, Bey embarked on his hip hop career in 1994, alongside his siblings in the short-lived rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD), after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. He subsequently formed the trio Black Star, alongside fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli, and Cincinnati producer Hi-Tek and released their eponymous debut album in 1998. He was a major force in late-1990s underground hip hop while under Rawkus Records. In 1999, Bey released his solo debut, Black on Both Sides, under Rawkus and Priority Records. His debut was followed by The New Danger (2004), True Magic (2006) and The Ecstatic (2009).

Prior to his career in music, Bey first entered public life as a child actor, having played roles in television movies, sitcoms, and theater, some of which were under the name Dante Beze. At the age of 14, he appeared in the TV movie God Bless the Child, which aired on ABC in 1988. He played the oldest child in the 1990 family sitcom You Take the Kids, shortly before it was cancelled. In 1995, he played the character "Dante" in The Cosby Mysteries. Since the early 2000s, Bey has been well known for his roles in films such as Something the Lord Made, Next Day Air, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 16 Blocks, Be Kind Rewind, The Italian Job, Bamboozled and Brown Sugar, as well as for his portrayal of Brother Sam in the Showtime drama series Dexter. He is also known as the host of Def Poetry Jam, which aired on HBO between 2002 and 2007.

Ennio Morricone

HIDDEN ERROR: Usage of "in_groups" is not recognized

Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI (Italian: [ˈɛnnjo morriˈkoːne]; born 10 November 1928) is an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and former trumpet player, born in Rome. He composes a wide range of music styles, making him one of the most versatile, experimental and influential composers of all time, working in any medium. Over the past seven decades, Morricone has composed over 500 scores for cinema and television, as well as over 100 classical works. His filmography includes over 70 award-winning films, including all Sergio Leone films since the Dollars Trilogy (such as Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America), all Giuseppe Tornatore films (since Cinema Paradiso), The Battle of Algiers, 1900, Exorcist II, Days of Heaven, several major films in French cinema, in particular the comedy trilogy La Cage aux Folles I, II, III and Le Professionnel, The Thing, The Mission, The Untouchables, Bugsy, In the Line of Fire, Disclosure, Mission to Mars, Ripley's Game, The Best Offer, and The Hateful Eight.

Form of the Good

Plato describes "The Form of the Good", or more literally "the idea of the good" (ἡ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἰδέα), in his dialogue the Republic (508e2–3), speaking through the character of Socrates. Plato introduces several forms in his works, but identifies the Form of the Good as the superlative. This form is the one that allows a philosopher-in-training to advance to a philosopher-king. It cannot be clearly seen or explained, but once it is recognized, it is the form that allows one to realize all the other forms.

Usages in The Republic

The first references we see in The Republic to the Form of the Good can be found within the conversation between Glaucon and Socrates (454 c–d). When trying to answer such difficult questions pertaining to the definition of justice, Plato identifies that we should not “introduce every form of difference and sameness in nature” instead we must focus “on the one form of sameness and difference that was relevant to the particular ways of life themselves” which is the Form of the Good. This Form is the basis for understanding all other Forms, it is what allows us to understand everything else. Through the conversation between Socrates and Glaucon (508 a–c) Plato analogizes the Form of the Good with the sun as it is what allows us to see things. Here, Plato describes how the sun allows for sight. But he makes a very important distinction, “sun is not sight” but it is “the cause of sight itself.” As the sun is in the visible realm, the Form of Good is in the intelligible realm. It is “what gives truth to the things known and the power to know to the knower”. It is not only the “cause of knowledge and truth, it is also an object of knowledge”.

The Ecstasy of Gold

"The Ecstasy of Gold" (Italian: L'estasi dell'oro) is a musical composition by Ennio Morricone, part of his score for the Sergio Leone film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It is played while Tuco (Eli Wallach) is frantically searching a cemetery for the grave that holds $200,000 in gold coins. Sung by Edda Dell'Orso, it stands as one of the most well known of Morricone's themes.

Other uses