![]() After returning from filming You Take the Kids in Los Angeles, and getting into a relationship with an older girl, Bey dropped out of high school during sophomore year. īey attended middle school at Philippa Schuyler Middle School in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where developed his love for acting. He is close friends with fellow Muslim hip-hop artists Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip. Bey was not exposed to Islam until the age of 13. His father was initially a member of the Nation of Islam and later followed Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, who merged into the mainstream Sunni Islam from the Nation of Islam. The eldest of 12 children and step-children, he was raised by his mother in Brooklyn, while his father lived in New Jersey. Yasiin Bey was born Dante Terrell Smith on December 11, 1973, in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Sheron Smith and Abdulrahman Smith. He hosted Def Poetry Jam from 2002 to 2007.īey has been vocal on several social and political causes, including police brutality, American exceptionalism, and the status of African Americans. ![]() ![]() Since the early 2000s, he has appeared in the films Something the Lord Made, Next Day Air, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 16 Blocks, Be Kind Rewind, The Italian Job, The Woodsman, Bamboozled, and Brown Sugar and in television series such as Dexter and House. He was a child actor in television films, sitcoms, and theater. listed him 14th on its "50 Greatest Rappers of All Time". His debut was followed by The New Danger (2004), True Magic (2006), and The Ecstatic (2009). He was featured on the roster of Rawkus Records and in 1999 released his solo debut, Black on Both Sides. He formed the duo Black Star, alongside fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli, and in 1998 they released their debut album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, featuring the singles " Definition" and " Respiration". His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the short-lived rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD), after which they appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. For an artist whose stage moniker literally translates as "the highest certainty," Mos Def's newest release carries the unfortunate weight of indecisiveness.Yasiin Bey ( / j æ ˈ s iː n ˈ b eɪ/ born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), more commonly known by his former stage name Mos Def ( / ˌ m oʊ s ˈ d ɛ f/), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. These, however, are the lone highlights of this otherwise disappointing release. ![]() Here, Mos tantalizes us with a glimpse of his past ebullience as he hums: "Lay back and relax your mind/ About to double the dosage in the half-time/ Master physical mastermind." Likewise, "The Panties" and "Modern Marvel" revel in the sleepy genius of "Umi Says" and deliver their respective messages of love and sadness with quiet, erupting impact. It's unfortunate that a phenom like "Sex, Love & Money"- with its fat Dick Tracy horns, whimpering jungle flute, and marching band percussion- is lost in the melee. "Life Is Real", for example, finds a terminal case of logorrhea infecting an uncharacteristically awful Mos verse: "My whole life is ill/ My whole life is real/ Mornings, noons, nights/ Birthdays, work days, holidays, funerals." What's more, Know's material fails to connect thematically or musically to the rest of the album, causing an unfortunate fit of dysrhythmia. On the record's rock-tinged tracks, Know's overpowering licks seem to render a stop payment on Mos' creativity. "War" regurgitates a similar tune, adding a fairly benign critique of its titular subject, depressingly offering the impression that Mos believes a loud message makes an acceptable substitute for a thoughtful one. Suffice to say, Mos' cry, "We show you how to really make a moshpit bounce" is unconvincing at best. Yet both "Freaky Black Greetings" and "Zimzallabim" borrow heavily from the Chocolate Starfish playbook. Granted, more African-American creative input in modern rock would be a wonderful thing- and Mos' attempt is laudable- but as he says, "I ain't try to fuck with Limp Bizkit," suggesting that rap and rock are two very different beasts whose collusion could be disastrous. Curiously, despite Mos' on-the-mark vocalizing about the neglected acknowledgment of the Afro-American influence on rock, he chose the arguably least "black" form to express himself.
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