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.


Mos Def

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I'm retiring the Mos Def name after 2011. I'm actually doing it.
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I met Mos Def around that time but I didn't hook up with him until I was about 17 or 18.
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Mos Def is a name that I built and cultivated over the years. It's a name that the streets taugh...
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Mos Def is a name that I built and cultivated over the years it's a name that the streets taught...
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So I think hip-hop is moving and is going to continue to move in the direction of rappers just being...
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Mos Def is one of the most creative, intelligent human beings I've had the opportunity to work w...
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I actually knew I was going to be perfect for Def Leppard, sorry I hate to say that but I knew it.
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I think that Mos Def is the best actor, but when you talk about rappers in films, I don't really...
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Reckless capitalism kills black people.
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Bob Marley performed the 'One Love Peace' concert in Jamaica with the two different warring ...
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You're not gonna get through life without being worshipful or devoted to something. You're e...
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I'm not shy about heated debate or passionate discourse, but when people get crazy or rude, that...
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Focused. I'm a hustler. And my hustle is trying to figure out the best ways to do what I like wi...
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I come from a family of very devout, praying people. That idea of peace and love toward humanity sho...
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That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn't be nationalistic or denominational. It sho...
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Good art provides people with a vocabulary about things they can't articulate.
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If you're going to do Chuck Berry, you got to, you know, go all out, and the duck walk is just k...
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But even creeps deserve to live someplace halfway decent.
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I'm just an artist and I'm doin' what I like to do.
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Everything's got space between it, the planets, trees, your eyes. Your eyes get too close togeth...
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I feel like being into the beat of your own drum has become too prominent in the culture.
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To me, playing an instrument and singing, all of these different things are just as natural to me as...
MOS DEF
I've always loved rhyming. I love language.
MOS DEF
You want to know how to rhyme, then learn how to add. It's mathematics.
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I'm inspired by playwrights, novelists, poets: The value of language has been a lifelong passion...
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You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions.
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My presence speaks volumes before I say a word.
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It wouldn't be fair to cast aspersions on an entire cultural movement based on the actions of a ...
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I know what it feels like to have the door slammed firmly in my face, so I'm cool with that.
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And remember don't high post when you're far from home, and high posting when you're all alone.
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More Mos Def

African art is functional, it serves a purpose. It's not a dormant. It's not a means to coll...
MOS DEF
What I take from writers I like is their economy - the ability to use language to very effective end...
MOS DEF
Reckless capitalism kills black people.
MOS DEF
Bob Marley performed the 'One Love Peace' concert in Jamaica with the two different warring ...
MOS DEF
You're not gonna get through life without being worshipful or devoted to something. You're e...
MOS DEF
I'm not shy about heated debate or passionate discourse, but when people get crazy or rude, that...
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Focused. I'm a hustler. And my hustle is trying to figure out the best ways to do what I like wi...
MOS DEF
I come from a family of very devout, praying people. That idea of peace and love toward humanity sho...
MOS DEF
That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn't be nationalistic or denominational. It sho...
MOS DEF
Good art provides people with a vocabulary about things they can't articulate.
MOS DEF
If you're going to do Chuck Berry, you got to, you know, go all out, and the duck walk is just k...
MOS DEF
But even creeps deserve to live someplace halfway decent.
MOS DEF
I'm just an artist and I'm doin' what I like to do.
MOS DEF
Everything's got space between it, the planets, trees, your eyes. Your eyes get too close togeth...
MOS DEF
I'm a passionate person. I'm a lot of things, like most people are. Most people are dynamic....
MOS DEF
You have to be an extremist to believe that you're gonna be the president of the United States a...
MOS DEF
I'm retiring the Mos Def name after 2011. I'm actually doing it.
MOS DEF
Mos Def is a name that I built and cultivated over the years. It's a name that the streets taugh...
MOS DEF
Mos Def is a name that I built and cultivated over the years it's a name that the streets taught...
MOS DEF
I feel like being into the beat of your own drum has become too prominent in the culture.
MOS DEF
With guys I revere, like Marcus Garvey or Malcolm X, their look is less about style than purpose and...
MOS DEF
To me, playing an instrument and singing, all of these different things are just as natural to me as...
MOS DEF
I've always loved rhyming. I love language.
MOS DEF
You want to know how to rhyme, then learn how to add. It's mathematics.
MOS DEF
I'm inspired by playwrights, novelists, poets: The value of language has been a lifelong passion...
MOS DEF
You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions.
MOS DEF
My presence speaks volumes before I say a word.
MOS DEF
It wouldn't be fair to cast aspersions on an entire cultural movement based on the actions of a ...
MOS DEF
I know what it feels like to have the door slammed firmly in my face, so I'm cool with that.
MOS DEF
And remember don't high post when you're far from home, and high posting when you're all alone.
MOS DEF
Pour Some Sugar on Me,
DEF LEPPARD
Drive In Saturday.
DEF LEPPARD
It's a mantle we don't deserve. That's not what we're about. We do big pop songs with bombast -- and...
DEF LEPPARD
We sit on the fence between hard rock and pop,
DEF LEPPARD
ya better come inside
when you're ready to
but no chance if ya don't wanna dance
you...
DEF LEPPARD