MOS DEF PRESENTS THE ECSTATIC TOUR PRODUCED BY GARDEN GROWN AND GUERILLA UNION

Regarded as one of the most insightful artists of our time, musician, activist and actor Mos Def has captured the attention of critics and audiences alike with a celebrated body of work that has crossed all artistic genres—from music to the Broadway stage, film and television. For his next endeavor, THE ECSTATIC TOUR, the multi-faceted artist has teamed up with Garden Grown–an international media corporation that has produced and provided talent for hundreds of events worldwide–and Guerilla Union, the marketing and touring company that produces world-class hip-hop platforms Rock the Bells and Paid Dues. Ticketing and routing information available now at www.gardengrown.net and www.guerillaunion.com.

Set to launch August 1 in Minneapolis, MN, THE ECSTATIC TOUR celebrates Mos Def’s album The Ecstatic, just released on June 9 via Downtown Records.  It will take the esteemed rapper throughout many U.S. and Canadian cities including Chicago, Washington D.C., Miami, Calgary, Vancouver and Portland.  Mos Def will be joined by Jay Electronica, called an enigma by URB magazine for his unconventional style of hip-hop, on all dates, as well as Erykah Badu and Medina Green in select markets.

Heralded in the press by the likes of Esquire (“Because there is no better lyricist (or deliverer of lyrics) in music. Not hip-hop. Music.”), SPIN (“The Ecstatic is easily his finest full length since Black on Both Sides”), TIME (“…full of the rhythm, exuberance and wit Mos Def showed on his early records.”) and GIANT (“a lyricist whose command of wordplay and delivery has ranked him among hip hop’s elite…[The Ecstatic] is ahead of its time.”), The Ecstatic also coincides with the 10-year anniversary of his seminal debut Black on Both Sides. Several new tracks from The Ecstatic, including “Life In Marvelous Times” and ”Quiet Dog Bite Hard” can be heard now via Mos Def’s My Space page (www.myspace.com/mosdef). These debut tracks are also available now via download on RCRD LBL (http://rcrdlbl.com) and on iTunes.

The dates for THE ECSTATIC TOUR featuring Mos Def and Jay Electronica are as follows:
 

DATE		CITY	VENUE
Sat	8/1	Minneapolis, MN	First Avenue
Sun	8/2	Chicago, IL	House of Blues
Wed	8/5	Burlington, VT	Higher Ground
Sun	8/9	Washington, DC	9:30 Club
Wed	8/12	Charlotte, NC	Amos' Southend
Thu	8/13	Charleston, SC	Music Farm
Fri	8/14	Atlanta, GA	The Tabernacle
Sat	8/15	Miami, FL	Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
Mon	8/17	New Orleans, LA	House of Blues
Tue	8/18	Dallas, TX	House of Blues
Wed	8/19	Houston, TX	House of Blues
Mon	8/24	Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Events Center
Tue	8/25	Calgary, AB	Flames Central
Thu	8/27	Vancouver, BC	The Vogue Theatre
Sat	8/29	Portland, OR	Roseland Theatre
Thu	9/3	San Francisco, CA	Davies Symphony Hall*
Fri	9/4	Oakland, CA	The Paramount Theatre*
Sat	9/5	Los Angeles, CA	The Palladium*

* With Erykah Badu    
         

More dates to be announced soon.

About Mos Def:

In 1996, Mos Def became an underground favorite in the hip-hop world, which lead to his legendary collaboration with Talib Kweli. The two formed Black Star whose debut release would become one of the most critically acclaimed hip-hop albums of a generation. The following year, Mos released his solo debut, Black On Both Sides, which was certified gold and credited by critics as bringing hip-hop back to its soapbox roots. In 2004, he followed with The New Danger (Good Tree Media/ Geffen Records) which met with praise from Rolling Stone (The magazine gave the collection 4 Stars and hailed it as “Ghetto rock and righteous hip-hop.”) and it’s first single, “Sex, Love and Money” earned a 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative/Urban Performance. Mos Def released True Magic (Good Tree Media/ Geffen Records) in late 2006, which brought the artist another GRAMMY nomination for Best Alternative/Urban Performance for the single “Undeniable.” Mos Def has also appeared in a variety of film and TV projects including Monster’s Ball, The Italian Job and in the critically acclaimed HBO movie Something the Lord Made, for which he received nominations for a 2004 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie,” a Golden Globe Award (Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture) and NAACP Award. Mos has also appeared in the feature films The Woodsman, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005), 16 Blocks (2006), Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (2006), Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind (2008), and Darnell Martin’s Cadillac Records (2008).  Mos completed his Broadway debut in 2002 in the Tony-nominated, Pulitzer Prize-winning Topdog/Underdog and re-teamed with playwright Suzan Lori Parks and director George Wolfe for the off-Broadway play Fucking A, for which he was awarded an Obie Award.  In addition to his acting credits, Mos has served as the host, music supervisor and co-executive producer for the HBO series Def Poetry, which returned for its sixth season in 2007. Def has also served as a writer, producer and actor on the MTV sketch comedy series Lyricist Lounge.  Mos Def is working on the production of a book called Black, 2.0 by Mos Def. The production, a heavily illustrated and innovatively designed compendium of significant moments and movements, artifacts and icons of the past 35 years of black culture, is slated to be published in fall 2008 (The Doubleday Publishing Group, part of Random House, Inc).  Mos Def has also collaborated with Converse to design a line of sneakers. His signature sneakers feature laser-etched pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline, and are available now in stores. In the summer of 2008, the artist announced a deal with Undercrwn to design a limited collection of apparel.

www.myspace.com/mosdef

www.guerillaunion.com

# # #

For more information on Mos Def’s THE ECSTATIC TOUR presented by Garden Grown and Guerilla Union, contact:

MSO    818-380-0400

Alexandra Greenberg x223    agreenberg@msopr.com

Shazila Mohammed x238      shazila@msopr.com

Bari Lieberman x222             blieberman@msopr.com