Hasta La Ideas

by Julie Wolfson

Actor and MC, the Mighty Mos Def has a long list of unique collaborations and projects including starring on Broadway in Suzan-Lori Parks play “Topdog/Underdog,” playing a video store employee in Michel Gondry’s “Be Kind Rewind” and hosting “Def Poetry” on HBO. Now Mos Def is one of the first artists to release his new album, “The Ecstatic,” in a t-shirt format. Combining digital music with t-shirt design, The Mos Def Music Tee features the cover art on the front, tracklist on the back and a unique download code on the hang tag.

Created in collaboration with clothing line LnA, Downtown Music and Invisible DJ, the Original Music Tee was a mix tape release by Invisible DJ. Check out the LnA or Invisible DJ site for the full playlist. An interesting concept to try and sell music, several more Music Tees are in the works for the Fall.

The Mos Def Music Tee will available 7 July, 2009 for $40 from Downtown Music. The album is filled with clever wordplay, obscure but catchy beats, different time signatures and is a great listen all the way through. It’s been blasting all day today in the CH office.