The duo released an album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, in 1998. Yasiin Bey in 1999īey signed with Rawkus Records and formed the rap group Black Star with Talib Kweli. 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. The album features a compilation of previously unreleased and re-released tracks recorded during the original UTD run. In 2004, they released the album Manifest Destiny, their first and only release to date. ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)ġ994–1998: Beginnings with Rawkus and Black Star īey began his music career in 1994, forming the group UTD (or Urban Thermo Dynamics) along with younger brother DCQ and high-school friend Ces. ![]() Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Ilias later adopted the alias DCQ and was described by Bey as "my first partner in hip hop". 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. 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. 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. īey attended middle school at Philippa Schuyler Middle School in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where he developed his love for acting. He is close friends with fellow Muslim hip-hop artists Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip. Bey was not exposed to Islam until the age of 13. ![]() 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. The eldest of 12 children and step-children, he was raised by his mother in Brooklyn, while his father lived in New Jersey. Yasiin Bey was born Dante Terrell Smith on December 11, 1973, in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Sheron Smith and Abdulrahman Smith. He hosted Def Poetry Jam from 2002 to 2007.īey has spoken out on several social and political causes, including police brutality, American exceptionalism, and the status of African Americans. Ī 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. In 2014, listed him 14th on its "50 Greatest Rappers of All Time". He released his solo debut, Black on Both Sides in 1999, then The New Danger (2004), True Magic (2006), and The Ecstatic (2009). In 1996, he and fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli formed Black Star, whose debut album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star featured the singles " Definition" and " Respiration". ![]() He launched his hip hop career in 1994, joining his siblings in the short-lived rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD) and on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. Yasiin Bey ( / j æ ˈ s iː n ˈ b eɪ/ born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), more commonly known by his former stage name Mos Def ( / ˌ m oʊ s ˈ d ɛ f/), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor.
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