# Making Illmatic - Mos Def 'The Ecstatic' w/ Ali Elabbady

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-questions-hip-hop-4988699/making-illmatic-mos-def-the-ecstatic-w-ali-elabbady
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-questions-hip-hop-4988699/making-illmatic-mos-def-the-ecstatic-w-ali-elabbady.md
Podcast: [The Questions Hip-Hop](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-questions-hip-hop-4988699)
Published: 2026-03-16T07:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI3374355800.mp3?updated=1773820641
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI3374355800.mp3?updated=1773820641
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-questions-hip-hop-4988699/episodes/making-illmatic-mos-def-the-ecstatic-w-ali-elabbady
Duration seconds: 4999

## Resource

Hear the uncut episode with full music and cues at ⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Los Angeles: Pharrell Game Night April 1 The Making Illmatic format is back! Sean Kantrowitz and MidaZ the BEAST welcome writer Ali Elabbady (aka Egypto Knuckles) to do a deep dive into Mos Def's The Ecstatic and attempt to trim the album down to its 10 best songs. How do you trim this LP down to 10 songs and does doing so help or hurt the album? ⁠⁠⁠⁠questionshiphop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/thequestionshiphop⁠⁠⁠ The Questions Hip-Hop: ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ Sean Kantrowitz: ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ MidaZ the BEAST: ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ Ali Elabbady: Instagram

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## Transcript

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