Lapgan—perhaps most well-known for his full-length collaboration with Heems last year, Lafandar—has announced Lapgan Is Ecstatic, a new project reimagining the work of Mos Def’s singular 2009 LP. With The Ecstatic—one of the best rap albums of the 21st century—unavailable on streaming services, I will be spinning this remix project endlessly.
Regarding the concept, Lapgan explains: “I come back to The Ecstatic often. It’s one of my favorite hip-hop albums and one that really influenced my sound. Yasiin Bey speaking profound truths and affirmations over some of the greatest beats ever—it’s timeless. I was especially drawn to the beat and sample selection on the album. Madlib, Preservation, Dillla, Oh No all delivering a masterclass in sampling. The samples on ‘Supermagic’ and ‘Auditorium’ really stuck with me through the years.
“I had wanted to make a remix album for a while,” he continues, “and one weekend felt inspired to try remixing this one. I kept it all sample based and leaned heavily into my crates from India and Pakistan. I tried not to overthink it too much and just have fun with it. Hope people enjoy it and that it brings people back to the original classic.”
Today we’re premiering three tracks from the collection: “Wahid,” “No Hay Nada Mas,” and “Pretty Dancer.” Check those out below. The full collection will be available on Friday, December 5, via Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and YouTube.
