Mos Def also appears on the debut album from fellow New Yorkers Apollo Heights on a track titled, "Concern." In October, he signed a deal with Downtown Records and appeared on a remix to the song "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice. In 2002, he released the 12" single Fine, which was featured in the Brown Sugar Motion Picture Soundtrack. Mos Def appears alongside Kanye West on the track "Two Words" from The College Dropout album, the track "Drunk And Hot Girls" and the bonus track "Good Night" off West's third major album, Graduation. Flash, Madlib's brother Oh No, a song by J. The album was released on Jupon its release, only Madlib's production had made the cut, along with tracks by Preservation, The Neptunes, Mr. Producer and fellow Def Poet Al Be Back stated that he would be producing as well. He sang a number of new tracks in later shows, Def previewed tracks produced by Madliband was rumored to be going to Kanye West for new material. During this performance Mos Def announced that he would be releasing a new album to be called The Ecstatic. This performance was recorded for an upcoming "Live in Concert" DVD. On November 7, 2007, Mos Def performed live in San Francisco at a venue called The Mezzanine. The song "Dollar Day" uses the same beat as Juvenile's " Nolia Clap". Also, the track "Undeniable" samples a version of the Barrett Strong/ Norman Whitfield composition "Message from a Black Man". The song "Crime & Medicine" is essentially a cover of GZA's 1995 single " Liquid Swords", though it contains different verses. Mos Def's final solo album for Geffen Records, True Magic, was released in 2006. The singles included " Sex, Love & Money" and the B-side "Ghetto Rock" the latter went on to receive several Grammy Award nominations in 2004. The New Danger contained a mix of several musical genres, including soul, blues, and rock and roll, performed with his rock band Black Jack Johnson, which contained members of the bands Bad Brains and Living Colour. Def performing at Rock the Bells (New York).Īfter the collapse of Rawkus, he signed to Interscope/ Geffen Records, which released his second solo album The New Danger in 2004. Around this time he also contributed to the Scritti Politti album Anomie & Bonhomie and Rawkus compilations Lyricist Lounge and Soundbombing. Mos Def released his solo debut album Black on Both Sides in 1999, also through Rawkus. Mostly produced by Hi-Tek, the album featured the hit singles, " Respiration" and " Definition", which would go on to be featured in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop. They released an album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star, in 1998. Mos Def signed with Rawkus Records and formed the group Black Star with Talib Kweli. In 1996, Mos Def emerged as a solo artist and worked with De La Soul and Da Bush Babees, before he released his own first single, "Universal Magnetic". He is friends with Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest. At 19, he took his shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith. While his father was initially a member of the Nation of Islam and later an active member in the community of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, who merged into mainstream Islam from the Nation, Mos Def was not exposed to Islam until the age of 13. He was raised by his mother in Brooklyn his father lived in New Jersey. He was born Dante Terrell Smith in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Sheron Smith and Abdul Rahman. Mos Def has also been active in several social and political causes.
He is well known for his parts in films Something the Lord Made, Next Day Air, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, " Be Kind Rewind", " The Italian Job", and his portrayal of Brother Sam in the American drama series Dexter.
Īlthough he was initially recognized for his musical output, since the early 2000s, Mos Def's screen work has established him as one of only a handful of rappers who has garnered critical acclaim for his acting work. As a solo artist he has released the albums Black on Both Sides in 1999, The New Danger in 2004, True Magic in 2006, and The Ecstatic in 2009. He was a major force in late 1990s underground hip hop while with Rawkus Records. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which released the album Black Star in 1998. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. Soulquarians, Black Star, Native Tongues Posse, Kanye West, Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Pharoahe Monch, Blakrocĭante Terrell Smith (born December 11, 1973) is an American actor and hip hop recording artist, better known by the stage names Mos Def / ˈ m oʊ s ˈ d ɛ f / and Yasiin Bey / j æ ˈ s iː n ˈ b eɪ /.