Mos Def is a name that I built and cultivated over the years. It's a name that the streets taught me, a figure of speech that was given to me by the culture and by my environment.
— Mos Def
I've always loved rhyming. I love language.
I'm inspired by playwrights, novelists, poets: The value of language has been a lifelong passion of mine. I enjoy it. I'm good at it.
If 'Life in Marvelous Times' can't get on the radio, then I don't need to be on the radio.
I got my first exposure to Islam when I was 13.
Bob Marley performed the 'One Love Peace' concert in Jamaica with the two different warring political sides. There's always been that in black music and culture in general. It's no surprise because black music is such a reflection of what's going on in black life. It's not unusual for hip-hop.
I'm an independent thinker. And I'm not the poster child for any movement. I'm trying to support whatever's right no matter where it is.
Hip-hop is the last true folk art.
I know what it feels like to have the door slammed firmly in my face, so I'm cool with that.
I believe the projects were a social experiment; we were laboratory rats stacked on top of each other, and people just knew, inherently, that there was something wrong. There's not a lot of regard for the property by the residents.
I feel like I was the only person who was capable of making this type of music in this type of way. I don't rap like nobody, I don't try to sound like nobody.
What I take from writers I like is their economy - the ability to use language to very effective ends. The ability to have somebody read something and see it, or for somebody to paint an entire landscape of visual imagery with just sheets of words - that's magical.
I don't hate nobody. I hate certain conditions that are inflicted upon the people - and they're helpless with it.
I can't control what people think. I'm not trying to manipulate people's thoughts or sentiments. I write all the time. You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions. It's machine-like how things are run now in hip-hop, and my ambitions are different.
I don't mind being black. I'm black out loud. It's more than the people that they are, it's the condition that they represent.
Twitter freaks me out. You have followers? It feels so obsessive and proprietary.
You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions.
I like to read the 'Financial Times' when I'm traveling. 'Economist.' 'Ad Busters.'
When people say, 'I don't see you enough,' well just because you don't see me don't mean I don't exist, or just 'cause you haven't heard me don't mean I haven't been making noise. But if I keep making noise, you'll pick up.
You have to be an extremist to believe that you're gonna be the president of the United States and your name is Barack Hussein Obama! And he's using extreme methods, but his application is very smooth. Michelle Obama is extreme, her presence is extreme. And it's an extreme good. Extreme is not negative.
If Islam's sole interest is the welfare of mankind, then Islam is the strongest advocate of human rights anywhere on Earth.
The ability to have somebody read something and see it, or for somebody to paint an entire landscape of visual imagery with just sheets of words - that's magical. That's what I've been trying to strive for - to draw a clear picture, to open up a new dimension.
To me, playing an instrument and singing, all of these different things are just as natural to me as rhyming.
I don't have advice for people on how to dress. People should dress based on what they find beautiful. My best advice: Keep your clothes clean.
I began to fear that Mos Def was being treated as a product, not a person, so I've been going by Yasiin since '99. At first it was just for friends and family, but now I'm declaring it openly.
Reckless capitalism kills black people.
African art is functional, it serves a purpose. It's not a dormant. It's not a means to collect the largest cheering section. It should be healing, a source a joy. Spreading positive vibrations.
I have no confidence issues with the impact or the quality of the music. No one in hip-hop, before this point and to this point, with all due respect, has done this.
It wouldn't be fair to cast aspersions on an entire cultural movement based on the actions of a few. To quote my grandfather, 'One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch.'
My presence speaks volumes before I say a word.
I'm growing as an individual, but your always growing. All of my albums are snapshots of where I am artistically.
I'm not shy about heated debate or passionate discourse, but when people get crazy or rude, that's a buzz kill. There's got to be a better code of conduct, some basic etiquette.
I come from a family of very devout, praying people. That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn't be nationalistic or denominational. It should be a chief concern for all mankind.
To me, the job of the artist is to provide a useful and intelligent vocabulary for the world to be able to articulate feelings they experience everyday, and otherwise wouldn't have the means to express in a meaningful and useful way.
I've been fortunate with my acting career. A lot of scripts come to me. I don't mind auditioning if something that requires that, but I haven't had to in awhile, which is a nice place to be 'cause I've been on quite a lot of auditions in my life.
If you're going to do Chuck Berry, you got to, you know, go all out, and the duck walk is just kind of you know, cursory. That's like standing.
In the early '90s, when I really started to find my voice, I was reading a lot of books, and I was moved by the writers, like Chinua Achebe, and I wanted to be able to write rhymes that were as potent as what I was reading.
You're not gonna get through life without being worshipful or devoted to something. You're either devoted to your job, or to your desires. So the best way to spend your life is to try to be devoted to prayer, to Allah.
What I take from writers I like is their economy - the ability to use language to very effective ends.
Record companies are not necessarily interested in you realizing your artistic dream. The bottom line is that they got to sell records.
With guys I revere, like Marcus Garvey or Malcolm X, their look is less about style than purpose and the expression of beauty. It wasn't just about being noticed, you know?
I don't rap like nobody, I don't try to sound like nobody.
But even creeps deserve to live someplace halfway decent.
I'm a passionate person. I'm a lot of things, like most people are. Most people are dynamic. The focus is not on me though, I'm a screen. The aim is to always keep myself in the position where the screen is clear.
I feel like being into the beat of your own drum has become too prominent in the culture.
I have mad brims.
That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn't be nationalistic or denominational. It should be a chief concern for all mankind.
There are a lot of people who call themselves teachers or leaders, but they're really just propagandists.
I don't want to waste anyone's time or money. I want to give people some truth and positive heart lift.
Good art provides people with a vocabulary about things they can't articulate.
