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Revision as of 20:23, 14 October 2006 by 71.209.62.118 (talk) (→Acting career)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Template:Infobox musical artist 2 Mos Def (born Dante Terrell Smith on December 11, 1973) is a critically acclaimed rapper and actor. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and is an American Muslim convert. His name is slang for "most definitely". He goes by the stage names Mighty Mos Def, The Freaky Night Watchman, Boogie Man, Black Dante, Dante Beze, Pretty Flaco, and Flaco Bey.
Rap career
Mos Def began his music career with the short-lived group Urban Thermo Dynamics with his younger brother DCQ, and his younger sister Ces. Despite their contract with Payday Records, the group only released two singles and the group's debut album, Manifest Destiny, did not see the light of day until 2004 (see 2004 in music) when it was released through Illson Media. In 1996, he emerged as a solo artist and worked with De La Soul and da Bush Babees, before he released his own first single, Universal Magnetic, which was a huge underground hit.
After signing with Rawkus Records, Mos Def and Talib Kweli formed the group Black Star, and released a full length album under the name, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, the album was released in 1998, and featured Hi-Tek producing most of the tracks.
Mos Def released his solo debut, Black on Both Sides, in 1999 (see 1999 in music). Def was also featured on Rawkus influential Lyricist Lounge and Soundbombing series compilations. After the collapse of Rawkus, he and Kweli signed on to Interscope/Geffen Records, which released his second solo album, The New Danger, in 2004. Mos Def has drawn some criticism from his fan base about "keeping it real" since he appeared in a commercial that endorsed the GMC Denali sport utility vehicle. Mos Def was set to release his last solo album on Geffen Records, True Magic, on September 19, 2006, , but the date has been pushed back to December 5.
Impact on hip hop
Artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, Brand Nubian, De La Soul, Gang Starr, KRS-One, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and Public Enemy, whose music was more socially conscious than that of their predecessors, have pushed hip-hop's artistic boundaries of hip-hop and rap music.
By the early 1990s, this brand of rap had been eclipsed in popularity by gangsta rap. Mos Def, as well as Talib Kweli, Common, Little Brother, Quannum Projects and others helped socially aware rap music experience something of a comeback in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Mos Def's collaboration with Talib Kweli, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, was released during the aftermath of the deaths of 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. and focused on violence and deceit in hop hop, in collaboration with other acts that did the same. Def's music also has references to his Islamic faith, and his contention that black artists receive little credit for their role in the birth of rock and roll music.
On Mos Def's 2004 album The New Danger, the rapper took his penchant for experimentation to a new level. Most of the songs were more hip-hop flavored stylings of blues and rock, with fewer raps thrown in. This threw off fans who were expecting another full-blown rap album. The New Danger also featured the controversial song, "The Rape Over", a parody of Jay-Z's The Blueprint hit "The Takeover":
- Old white men is runnin' this rap shit,
- Corporate forces runnin' this rap shit,
- Some tall Israeli is runnin' this rap shit,
- We poke out our asses for a chance to cash in.
- Cocaine, is runnin' this rap shit,
- 'Dro, 'yac and e-pills is runnin this rap shit,
- MTV is runnin' this rap shit,
- Viacom is runnin' this rap shit,
- AOL and Time Warner runnin' this rap shit,
- Quasi - homosexuals is runnin' this rap shit.
High-placed executives temporarily made Mos take the song off releases of the album, citing clearance issues with Jay-Z and The Doors, a band which the song samples. The song has been called anti-zionist for its veiled reference to Lyor Cohen (the "tall Israeli" who then was head of the The Island Def Jam Music Group), and homophobic for its reference to "quasi-homosexuals."
Mos and Immortal Technique released a similarly controversial song, "Bin Laden" in 2005, which blamed the Reagan Doctrine and President George W. Bush for the September 11, 2001 attacks. A club remix song, featuring Eminem, was released the following year, in 2005.
In September 2005, Mos Def released the single "Katrina Clap" (utilizing the instrumental for New Orleans rapper Juvenile's "Nolia Clap"), a criticism of the Bush administration's response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. On the night of the 2006 MTV VMA's, Mos Def performed the single in front of a crowd on the streets. However, he was soon arrested for "playing without a permit".
Acting career
Mos began his professional acting career at the age of 14, appearing in the TV movie God Bless the Child, starring Mare Winningham. He then played the oldest child in the short-lived family sitcom, You Take the Kids, starring Nell Carter and Roger E. Mosley. His most notable acting role before his music career was that of Bill Cosby's sidekick on the short-lived detective show, The Cosby Mysteries.
After brief appearances in Bamboozled and Monster's Ball, Mos re-invigorated his acting career with his performance as a talented rapper who is reluctant to sign to a major label in Brown Sugar. He was nominated for an Image Award and a Teen Choice Award.
Notably in 2002, he played the role of Booth in Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog, a Tony-nominated and Pulitzer-winning Broadway play. He also received positive notices as the quirky Left Ear in the blockbuster hit, The Italian Job.
He has also appeared on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show.
In 2004, he hosted the MOBO awards in London.
He has hosted the award-winning HBO spoken word show, Def Poetry since its inception. The show's fifth season aired in 2005.
Mos won Best Actor, Independent Movie at the 2005 Black Reel Awards for his portrayal of the skeptical 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 Award, a Golden Globe, and won the Image Award. He then landed the role of Ford Prefect in the 2005 movie adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
In 2006, Mos Def appeared in Dave Chappelle's Block Party alongside fellow Black Star companion Talib Kweli, while also contributing to the film's soundtrack. Also, Mos Def was featured as the black banjo player in the infamous "Pixie Sketch" from Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes. He was later edited out of it on the dvd. Additionally, Mos Def is in the motion picture 16 Blocks along with co-stars Bruce Willis and David Morse. He is also set to be in Toussaint, a film about Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture, opposite Don Cheadle and Wesley Snipes. He made a cameo appearance in the movie "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby".
Samples
- Download sample of "Mathematics" from Black on Both Sides (ogg format)
Discography
Albums
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|---|
 |
Black Star (with Talib Kweli) |
 |
Black on Both Sides
|
 |
The New Danger
|
 |
Tru3 Magic
|
Selected filmography
- Dreamgirls (2006) (post production)
- Journey To The End of the Night (2006)
- Bobby (2006) (Post Production)
- The Brazilian Job (2006) (In production)
- Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) (cameo)
- 16 Blocks (2006)
- Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006)
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
- Lackawanna Blues (2005)
- Something the Lord Made (2004)
- nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, 56th Annual Emmy Awards
- nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards
- The Woodsman (2004)
- The Italian Job (2003)
- Brown Sugar (2002)
- Civil Brand (2002)
- Showtime (2002)
- Monster's Ball (2001)
- Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
- Bamboozled (2000)
- Where's Marlowe? (1998)
- Ghosts (1997)
References
- Your Thoughts on the Mos Def Denali Commercial? Magnetic: Mos Def News. October 10, 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2006
- Steve Baltin. Mos Def Works 'Magic' on Ears and Feet AOL Music News Blog. July 29, 2006. Retrieved August 26, 2006
- Treimain, Daniel. Rap Album Loses a Controversial Song. Forward. December 10, 2004. Retrieved March 21, 2006
- Toussaint. Internet Movie Database. December 10, 2004. Retrieved August 26, 2006
External links
- Official Myspace Page
- Official website
- Official website RSS Feed
- Mos Def at Geffen Records
- Mos Def at IMDb
- Mos Def Live concert in Australia - Video