To coincide with the new reissue of his acclaimed 2009 album The Ecstatic, Yasiin Bey has just dropped the Cognito-directed video for one of its songs, the DJ Preservation-produced “Priority.”
Reappropriating old footage, the clip offers a look back at a different time in Bey’s career, when he was still known as Mos Def and polo shirts were still in fashion. The video sees Bey in the studio, hanging out with his collaborators, and touring across the world. It’s a charming peek into the past, showing just how much things have changed for the artist and actor, who announced his retirement from show business in 2017 but later walked back that decision.
Drawn from over 70 hours of mini-DV footage captured by Cognito, who has previously worked with the likes of MF DOOM and De La Soul, the video came together naturally as part of the work that went into the deluxe reissue of The Ecstatic.
"After culling images that would eventually make it into the deluxe edition photobook + vinyl, I created a music video for 'Priority' too," Cognito said in a statement. "I used clips pulled from over 70 hours of mini DV footage I captured during those years — from the first studio visit in LA when Yasiin was recording the album, to press appearances for the initial release, to out on the road for The Ecstatic Tour across the US and all the way to South Africa."
The deluxe physical edition reissue is available to purchase as a 180-gram black 2LP vinyl set with a translucent seven-inch single featuring two previously unreleased tracks, and a Frolab-designed 120-page hardcover book featuring photos captured by Cognito. Merch and other physical formats, CD and cassette, are also now available.
Also included in the hardcover book are handwritten notes from Bey during the creation and promotion of the record, which is the last solo studio album he’s dropped that has been widely available to the public. His fifth solo album, ንጉሥ (Negus), exclusively premiered during Art Basel in 2019 and has not been made available as either a physical or digital release. He has, however, since released a second collaborative album with Talib Kweli as Black Star in 2022.
Check out the video for “Priority” up top, and order the deluxe reissue here.
