Yasiin Bey (/jæˈsiːn ˈbeɪ/ yass-EEN BAY; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11,

1973), formerly known as Mos Def (/ˌmoʊs ˈdɛf/ MOHSS DEF), is an American rapper
and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of
wordplay and commentary on social and political issues, such as police brutality,
American exceptionalism, and the status of African Americans in the United States.

He began his hip hop recording career in 1994, joined his siblings in the short-
lived rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD), and guest appeared on albums by Da
Bush Babees and De La Soul. In 1996, he and fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib
Kweli formed the duo Black Star, whose debut album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black
Star (1998) spawned the singles "Definition" and "Respiration". He released his
debut studio album, Black on Both Sides (1999), which was followed by The New
Danger (2004), True Magic (2006), and The Ecstatic (2009).[4] Bey's 2000 single,
"Oh No" (with Pharoahe Monch featuring Nate Dogg) remains his sole entry on the
Billboard Hot 100 as a solo act.[5] In 2014, About.com listed him 14th on its "50
Greatest Rappers of All Time".[6]

A former child actor in television films, sitcoms, and theater, Bey 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.[7] He hosted Def
Poetry Jam from 2002 to 2007.

Early life
Yasiin Bey was born Dante Terrell Smith on December 11, 1973, in Brooklyn, New York
City,[8] the son of Sheron Smith and Abdulrahman Smith.[9] The eldest of 12
children and step-children, he was raised by his mother in Brooklyn, while his
father lived in New Jersey.[10]

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. Bey was not exposed to Islam until the age of 13. He is close friends with
fellow Muslim hip-hop artists Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip.[9]

Bey attended middle school at Philippa Schuyler Middle School in Bushwick,

Brooklyn, where he developed his love for acting.[10][11] 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.[10] Growing up in
New York City, during the crack epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s, he has
spoken about witnessing widespread instances of gang violence, theft, and poverty
in society, which he largely avoided by working on plays, Off-Off-Broadway and arts
programs.[11] In a particularly traumatic childhood experience, Bey witnessed his
then five-year-old younger brother, Ilias Bey (born Denard Smith), get hit by a
car. Ilias later adopted the alias DCQ and was described by Bey as "my first
partner in hip hop".[11]

Music career
See also: Black Star (rap duo)

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1994–1998: Beginnings with Rawkus and Black Star
Bey began his music career in 1994, forming the group UTD (or Urban Thermo
Dynamics) along with younger brother DCQ and high-school friend Ces.[12] In 2004,
they released the album Manifest Destiny, their first and only release to date. The
album features a compilation of previously unreleased and re-released tracks
recorded during the original UTD run.[13]
In 1996, Bey emerged as a solo artist and worked with De La Soul and Da Bush
Babees, before he released his own first single, "Universal Magnetic" in 1997.[14]
[15]

Yasiin Bey in 1999

Bey signed with Rawkus Records and formed the rap group Black Star with Talib
Kweli.[16] The duo released an album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, in
1998.[17] Mostly produced by Hi-Tek, the album featured the singles "Respiration"
and "Definition", which both reached in the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
[18]

1999–2006: Solo career and various projects

Bey released his solo debut album Black on Both Sides in October 1999, also through
Rawkus.[19][20] The single "Ms. Fat Booty" charted,[18] while the album reached #25
on the Billboard 200.[21] Around this time, he also contributed to the Scritti
Politti album Anomie & Bonhomie.[22][23]

Yasiin Bey performing at Rock the Bells in New York

In January 2002, Rawkus Records was taken over by Geffen Records,[24] which
released his second solo album The New Danger in October 2004.[25] It included
contributions by Shuggie Otis and Bernie Worrell, Doug Wimbish, and Will Calhoun as
the Black Jack Johnson Band.[26] The album reached #5 on the Billboard 200, making
it the most successful for the artist to date.[21] The single "Sex, Love & Money"
charted,[18] and was nominated for a Grammy Award.[27] Bey's final solo album for
Geffen Records, titled True Magic, was released in 2006.[28]

2007–2011: Good Music era and name change

On November 7, 2007, Bey performed live in San Francisco at The Mezzanine venue.
The performance was recorded for an upcoming "Live in Concert" DVD. During the
event, he announced that he would be releasing a new album to be called The
Ecstatic.[29] He performed a number of new tracks; in later shows, he previewed
tracks produced by Madlib and was rumored to be going to Kanye West for new
material. Producer and fellow Def Poet Al Be Back revealed he would be producing on
the album as well.[30] The album was released on June 9, 2009; but only Madlib's
production had made the cut, along with tracks by Preservation, The Neptunes, Mr.
Flash, Madlib's brother Oh No, J. Dilla, and Georgia Anne Muldrow.

Bey 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. In 2002, he released the 12" single Fine, which was
produced by West and featured on the Brown Sugar soundtrack.[31]

In 2007, Bey appeared on Stephen Marley's debut album Mind Control on the song "Hey
Baby". He also appeared on the debut album from Apollo Heights on a track titled
"Concern". That October, he signed a deal with Downtown Records and appeared on a
remix to the song "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice.[32]

In April 2008, he appeared on the title track for a new album by The Roots titled
Rising Down. The single, "Life In Marvelous Times", was made officially available
through iTunes on November 4, 2008, and was also available for stream on the Roots'
website Okayplayer.

In 2009, he worked with Somali-Canadian rapper K'naan to produce the track

"America" for K'naan's album Troubadour.[33]
In April 2009, Bey traveled to South Africa for the first time, and performed with
The Robert Glasper Experiment at the renowned Cape Town International Jazz
Festival. He treated the South African audience with an encore, introduced by his
own rendition of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, followed by a sneak preview of the
track "M.D. (Doctor)".[34]

Bey has designed two pairs of limited edition Converse shoes. The shoes were
released through Foot Locker stores on August 1, 2009, in limited amounts.[35]

In late 2009, he created his own clothing line with the "UNDRCRWN" brand called the
"Mos Def Cut & Sew Collection". The items were released in select U.S. stores and
almost exclusively on the UNDRCRWN website.[36] That year, he was among the MCs
aligned with American entrepreneur Damon Dash's DD172 and collaborating with
American blues rock band the Black Keys on the Blakroc album, a project headed by
the Black Keys and Damon Dash.[37] Bey appeared with Harlem-bred rapper Jim Jones
and the Black Keys on the Late Show with David Letterman to perform the Blakroc
track "Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)".

In 2010, Bey featured on the first single, "Stylo", from the third Gorillaz album,
Plastic Beach, alongside soul legend Bobby Womack. He also appeared on the track
titled "Sweepstakes". In March 2010, Bey's song "Quiet Dog Bite Hard" was featured
in Palm's "Life moves fast. Don't miss a thing." campaign.[38]

In September 2010, after appearing on Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Friday track "Lord Lord
Lord", Bey confirmed he had signed with GOOD Music.[39] Bey has been an active
contributor to the recovery of the oil spill in the Gulf, performing concerts and
raising money towards repairing its damages. In June 2010, he recorded a cover of
the classic New Orleans song originally by Smokey Johnson, "It Ain't My Fault" with
the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Lenny Kravitz and Trombone Shorty.

In September 2011, the rapper announced that he legally changed his name to Yasiin
Bey and would go by that name, retiring his Mos Def moniker (short for "Most
Definitely").[40][41][42] Bey told a reporter "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."[43]
Bey also stated "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, and I feel I've done quite a bit with that
name. ...it's time to expand and move on."[44] Yasiin is a name in the Qur'an's
36th surah and was important to the rapper who converted to Islam in his teens. Bey
said the name change would eliminate "having any moniker or separation between the
self that I see and know myself as."[44]

Shortly after the name change announcement, Bey recorded as the narrator of the
children's hip hop musical, Pacha's Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature.

2012–present: Later career and retirement

In January 2012, it was reported that Bey and Talib Kweli had begun "to resurrect"
Black Star.[45] In 2015, Bey was featured on A$AP Rocky's second studio album At.
Long. Last. ASAP, on the track "Back Home", alongside Acyde and the deceased A$AP
Yams.[46] Bey again revived his Mos Def moniker for two new songs in August 2015,
titled "Basquiat Ghostwriter" and "Sensei on the Block".[47][48]

On January 19, 2016, Bey announced his retirement from both the music and film
industries on Kanye West's website: "I'm retiring from the music recording industry
as it is currently assembled today, and also Hollywood, effective immediately. I'm
releasing my final album this year, and that's that."[49] After announcing his
retirement, he expressed gratitude to everyone who has supported him over the years
and revealed his intention to enter the fashion industry and complete a handful of
films.[50] Bey also confirmed he still planned to release a collaborative project
with Ferrari Sheppard called Dec 99th.[50]

In October 2016, a planned concert in London was cancelled due to travel

restrictions imposed on the artist;[51] other European dates suffered the same
fate.[52] On October 14, Bey posted a video to Facebook where he announced that he
was still planning to retire: "I'm retiring for real this year, this week. With the
17th anniversary of Black on Both Sides being released, I am grateful to have had
the career that I have been able to enjoy."[53][54] He also announced one last
concert which he said he would be live streaming from Cape Town, South Africa.[55]
In November 2016, he was granted the ability to leave but not reenter South Africa
and was put on "South Africa's 'undesirable persons' list". He said he would
perform one show in Harlem and three in Washington D.C. after leaving South Africa.
He announced that Dec 99th, his final album, would be released on December 9. He
released three singles from it, "Local Time", "N.A.W." and "Seaside Panic Room".
[56] On December 5, 2016, he announced the title of two albums, Negus in Natural
Person and As Promised, the latter of which is a collaboration with Southern hip
hop producer Mannie Fresh, initially titled OMFGOD.[57] In 2017, his claims of
retirement were seen as questionable as he played shows on September 13, at the Fox
Theater in Oakland as part of Black Star and performed on Gorillaz' Humanz World
Tour, performing "Stylo" with Peven Everett, who filled in for Bobby Womack, who
died in 2014. He also has yet to release or announce a release date for the last
two albums of his career.[58][59]

In February 2018, Bey announced, on stage, a new Black Star studio album, produced
by Madlib, would be released in 2018. However, no specific release date was made
available. Later on that year, Bey appeared on the titular track of Kids See
Ghosts, the collaborative effort of Kanye West and Kid Cudi. In March 2019, he
debuted his album, ንጉሥ (pronounced Negus) at a listening session as part of Art
Basel Hong Kong. In a press release, he said that the album "will continue to
unfold as a series of varied installations around the world". He has no plans of
releasing the album digitally or physically.[60]

On June 28, 2019, Bey appeared on Bandana, an album by Freddie Gibbs and Madlib,
alongside Black Thought, on a track named "Education". In November 2019, he stated
that unreleased music, such as his collaborative album with Mannie Fresh, was still
"on deck" for release.[61] In 2021, he launched "The Midnight Miracle" podcast on
Luminary, along with Dave Chappelle and Talib Kweli.[62] In April 2022, a release
date for the long-awaited Black Star project was officially announced. The album
titled No Fear of Time was released via Luminary on May 3, 2022.[63]

Acting career
Beginnings as child actor
Prior to his career in music, Bey entered public life as a child actor, having
played roles in television movies, sitcoms and theater, some of which were under
the name Dante Beze.[64][65] At the age of 14, he appeared in the TV movie God
Bless the Child, starring Mare Winningham, which aired on ABC in 1988.[66] He
played the oldest child in the 1990 family sitcom You Take the Kids, shortly before
it was cancelled. In 1995, he played the character Dante, Bill Cosby's sidekick on
the short-lived detective show The Cosby Mysteries. In 1996, he starred in a Visa
check card commercial featuring Deion Sanders. He also had a small role alongside
Michael Jackson in his short film and music video Ghosts (1996).

Feature films, theater and television

After brief appearances in Bamboozled and Monster's Ball, Bey played a rapper who
is reluctant to sign with a major label in Brown Sugar. He was nominated for an
Image Award and a Teen Choice Award.[67]

In 2001, he took a supporting role to Beyoncé Knowles and Mehki Phifer in the MTV
movie Carmen: A Hip Hopera as Lt. Miller, a crooked cop.

In 2002, he played the role of Booth in Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog, a Tony-

nominated and Pulitzer-winning Broadway play. He and co-star Jeffrey Wright won a
Special Award from the Outer Critics Circle Award for their joint performance.[68]
He played Left Ear in the 2003 film The Italian Job. That same year, he appeared in
the Alicia Keys music video You Don't Know My Name.

In television, Bey has appeared on NYPD Blue,[69] Comedy Central's Chappelle's

Show, and hosted the award-winning HBO spoken word show Def Poetry.[70] He also
appeared on the sitcom My Wife and Kids as the disabled friend of Michael Kyle
(Damon Wayans).

Bey won "Best Actor, Independent Movie" at the 2005 Black Reel Awards for his
portrayal of Detective Sgt. Lucas in The Woodsman. For his portrayal of Vivien
Thomas in HBO's film Something the Lord Made, he was nominated for an Emmy[71] and
a Golden Globe, and won the Image Award. He also played a bandleader in HBO's
Lackawanna Blues. He then landed the role of Ford Prefect in the 2005 movie
adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Yasiin Bey and Bruce Willis on the set of 16 Blocks, filmed on location in
Chinatown, Manhattan
In 2006, Bey appeared in Dave Chappelle's Block Party alongside Black Star partner
Talib Kweli, while also contributing to the film's soundtrack. He was also featured
as the banjo player in the Pixie Sketch" from Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes,
though his appearance was edited out of the DVD. He starred in the action film 16
Blocks alongside Bruce Willis and David Morse. He also landed a recurring guest
role on Boondocks, starring as Gangstalicious. He is set to be in Toussaint, a film
about Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, opposite Don Cheadle and Wesley
Snipes.[72] He made a cameo appearance as himself in the movie Talladega Nights:
The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

In 2007, Bey narrated the PBS-broadcast documentary Prince Among Slaves.

In 2008, Bey starred in the Michel Gondry movie Be Kind Rewind, playing a video
rental store employee whose best friend is played by co-star Jack Black. He also
portrayed Chuck Berry in the film Cadillac Records, for which he was nominated for
a Black Reel Award and an Image Award.

In 2009, he appeared in the House episode titled "Locked In" as a patient suffering
from locked-in syndrome. His performance was well received, with E! saying that Mos
Def "delivers an Emmy-worthy performance".[73] He was also in the 2009 film Next
Day Air.

In 2010, he appeared on the children's show Yo Gabba Gabba! as Super Mr. Superhero.
He also appeared in A Free Man of Color, John Guare's play at the Vivian Beaumont
Theatre.[74]

In 2011, he began a multi-episode appearance on the sixth season of Showtime

television series Dexter. He played Brother Sam, an ex-convict who has supposedly
found religion despite finding himself in violent situations.[75]

In January 2016, Bey announced his retirement from the music and the film
industries on Kanye West's website. In March 2016, it was announced that he had
been attached to star in "his last live-action film", The Disconnected, a science
fiction thriller dealing with policing, identity, and the intersection of
technology and humanity.[76]
Social and political views
In 2000, paired with Talib Kweli, Bey organized the Hip Hop for Respect project to
speak out against police brutality. It was created in response to the 1999 police
shooting of Amadou Diallo, and sought to accumulate 41 artists to the roster, one
to match each of the 41 gunshots fired on Diallo.

Bey is well known for his leftist activism.[77] In 2000, he performed a benefit
concert for death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal.[78] In May 2005, Bey, Talib Kweli,
R&B singer Martin Luther and City Councilman Charles Barron approached New York
City Hall, demanding the withdrawal of the $1 million bounty for Assata Shakur.[79]

In September 2005, Bey released the single "Katrina Clap", renamed "Dollar Day" for
True Magic (utilizing the instrumental for New Orleans rappers UTP's "Nolia Clap").
The song is a criticism of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina.
On the night of the MTV Video Music Awards, Bey pulled up in front of Radio City
Music Hall on a flatbed truck and began performing the "Katrina Clap" single in
front of a crowd that quickly gathered around him. He was subsequently arrested for
not having a public performance permit in his possession.[80]

In October 2006, Bey appeared on 4Real, a documentary television series.[81]

Appearing in the episode "City of God", he and the 4Real crew traveled to City of
God, a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to meet Brazilian MC MV Bill and learn
about the crime and social problems of the community.[82]

On September 7, 2007, Bey appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher where he spoke
about racism against African Americans, citing the government response to Hurricane
Katrina, the Jena Six case, and the murder conviction of Mumia Abu-Jamal. He
appeared on Real Time again on March 27, 2009, and spoke about the risk of nuclear
weapons.[83]

In September 2011, Bey joined the cast of the environmental children's hip hop
musical Pacha's Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature as narrator. In July 2013, he
appeared in a short film released by the human rights organization Reprieve,
depicting the forced-feeding methods used at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps.
This transpired after a document containing the military instructions for the
procedure was leaked.[84][85]

In September 2018, Bey and advertising executive Free Richardson opened an art
exhibition to the public in an art gallery in the South Bronx, called the Compound,
centered around hip-hop and fine art. The goal of this gallery was to help bridge
the gap between the two fields, by showcasing artists from marginalized backgrounds
who normally would not be represented in art galleries. Art forms with negative
connotations, such as graffiti, as presented in a more optimal context. "The
purpose of the gallery is to say all art is equal," Richardson said. "But we are in
the borough that created hip-hop, which is the biggest art form in the world, so
it's always an extending arm. It's always present."[86]

Legacy
About.com ranked him #14 on its list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time,[6] and The
Source ranked him #23 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time.[87]
AllMusic called him one of the most promising rappers to emerge in the late 1990s,
[88] and one of hip-hop's brightest hopes entering the 21st century.[19] He has
influenced numerous hip hop artists throughout his career, including Lupe Fiasco,
Jay Electronica, Kid Cudi, and Saigon, and Logic.[89][90][91] Kendrick Lamar once
mentioned him as a very early inspiration as a young rapper, though Lamar denied
being a part of the conscious rap movement.[92] He has also directly influenced
artists outside of hip-hop, including English singer-songwriters Adele and Amy
Winehouse.[93][94]
Personal life
Bey married Maria Yepes in 1996. He filed for divorce from her in 2006.[95] She
took him to court over failure in child-support obligations, paying $2,000 short of
the monthly $10,000 he had been ordered to pay for their two daughters.[96][97] He
has four other children, including R&B singer and record producer Laila Smith, best
known as Laila!.

Bey's mother, Sheron Smith, managed part of her son's career.[98] She was a
motivational speaker and authored the book Shine Your Light: A Life Skills
Workbook, where she details her experience as a single mother raising him.[99]
Smith died in 2023.[100]

In January 2016, Bey was ordered to leave South Africa and not return for five
years, having stayed in the country illegally on an expired tourist visa granted in
May 2013.[101] That month, he was charged with using an unrecognized World Passport
and having lived illegally in South Africa since 2014.[102][103] He had reportedly
recruited Kanye West to help defend him, and posted a message on West's website
announcing his retirement from show business.[104][105] There was a court case in
relation to immigration offenses involving him and his family.[106][107] He was
allowed to leave South Africa on November 22, 2016, but was barred from coming
back.[108]