Yasin Bey

Yasiin Bey (born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def, is an American rapper, singer and actor, born in Brooklyn, New York. ^{1 2} He was first exposed to Islam at the age of thirteen and converted in his teens; the English article explains that his adopted name Yasiin, announced in 2011, comes from the Qur'an's 36th surah and mattered to him as a convert. ¹

With Talib Kweli he formed the duo Black Star, whose album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star appeared in 1998; his solo debut Black on Both Sides (1999) was met with critical acclaim, as was The Ecstatic (2009). ¹ As an actor he appeared in films such as Something the Lord Made (2004), The Italian Job (2003) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), and hosted HBO's Def Poetry Jam from 2002 to 2007. ¹

Bey was born in Brooklyn, the eldest of twelve children and step-children, and was raised by his mother there while his father lived in New Jersey. ¹ The article records that his father was initially a member of the Nation of Islam and later followed Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, while Bey himself was not exposed to Islam until he was thirteen. ¹ He began as a child actor, appearing in the 1988 television film God Bless the Child and in sitcoms, and dropped out of high school in his sophomore year. ¹

He began his music career in 1994 in the group Urban Thermo Dynamics with his younger brother and a high-school friend, then emerged as a solo artist, working with De La Soul and Da Bush Babees and releasing his first solo single, "Universal Magnetic", in 1997. ¹ Signing with Rawkus Records, he formed Black Star with Talib Kweli; their 1998 album produced the singles "Definition" and "Respiration", which reached the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. ¹

Black on Both Sides followed in October 1999, reaching No. 25 on the Billboard 200; The New Danger (2004) reached No. 5; True Magic followed in 2006 and The Ecstatic in 2009. ¹ He worked with Kanye West on several albums, with K'naan on the track "America" from Troubadour (2009), appeared on Gorillaz's "Stylo" (2010), and signed with GOOD Music in 2010. ¹

In September 2011 he announced that he had legally changed his name to Yasiin Bey and was retiring the Mos Def moniker, saying he had begun to fear that Mos Def was being treated as a product, not a person. ¹ In January 2016 he announced his retirement from the music and film industries, released the collaborative album December 99th at the end of that year, and later continued to appear in occasional projects: he revived Black Star with Talib Kweli for the album No Fear of Time (2022), released through Luminary, and launched The Midnight Miracle podcast in 2021 with Dave Chappelle and Talib Kweli. ¹

His solo albums are Black on Both Sides (1999), The New Danger (2004), True Magic (2006), The Ecstatic (2009) and Negus (2019), the last presented at listening installations rather than released digitally or physically. ¹ His collaborative albums include Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star (1998) and No Fear of Time (2022) with Talib Kweli, and Manifest Destiny (2004) with his first group. ¹

In acting, his portrayal of Vivien Thomas in Something the Lord Made brought him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and an Image Award; he won a Black Reel Award for The Woodsman (2004); and he appeared in series including Dexter and House and narrated the 2007 documentary Prince Among Slaves, about Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori. ¹

This section sets out positions and responses as reported in the sources. It is not a verdict by the museum.

Bey is known for leftist activism: in 2000 he co-organised the Hip Hop for Respect project against police brutality after the shooting of Amadou Diallo; his 2005 song "Katrina Clap" criticised the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, and he was arrested performing it without a permit outside Radio City Music Hall. ¹ He supported the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, appeared in a 2013 film by the organisation Reprieve depicting force-feeding at Guantanamo Bay, and is a longtime supporter of the Palestinian cause. ¹

In January 2016 he was ordered to leave South Africa and barred from returning for five years, having stayed on an expired tourist visa since 2013; he was charged with using an unrecognised World Passport and allowed to depart in November 2016. ¹

Critical assessments rank him highly: About.com listed him 14th among the 50 greatest rappers of all time, The Source placed him 23rd among the top 50 lyricists, AllMusic called him one of hip-hop's brightest hopes entering the 21st century, and artists including Kendrick Lamar and Lupe Fiasco have named him an early influence. ¹

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