“I come from a family of very devout, praying people. That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn’t be nationalistic or denominational. It should be a chief concern for all mankind.”

Mos Def (AKA Yasiin Bey, born Dante Terrell Smith) is a 43 year old hip-hop artist and actor from Brooklyn, NY. He can be seen in movies such as “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, “The Italian Job” and “16 Blocks”. He has recently announced his retirement from music and film in order to focus on a career in the fashion industry. He is an intelligent and insightful artist who has taken on the thuggish tropes of Rap as well as police brutality against blacks in America.

Below is a link to a great article about the artistry and influence of Mos Def, plus some more quotes…

http://www.thefader.com/2017/02/14/what-do-we-owe-yasiin-bey

“Good art provides people with a vocabulary about things they can’t articulate.”

“I just don’t think it’s very dignified to ask people to like you. You can just wind up being somebody’s ottoman.”

“Everything’s got space between it, the planets, trees, your eyes. Your eyes get too close together, it’s a whole different world. You can lose perspective.”

“There are a lot of people who call themselves teachers or leaders, but they’re really just propagandists.”

“I feel like being into the beat of your own drum has become too prominent in the culture.”