Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith-Bey is an American actor and MC known by the stage name Mos Def. Mos Def started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, who released the album Black Star in 1998. He was a major force in the late 1990s underground hip hop explosion spearheaded by Rawkus Records. As a solo artist he has released the albums Black on Both Sides in 1999, The New Danger in 2004, True Magic in 2006, and The Ecstatic in 2009.
Initially recognized for his musical output, Mos Def's screen work since the early 2000s has established him as one of only a handful of rappers who have garnered critical approval for their acting work. Mos Def has also been active on several social and political issues and was particularly vocal in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“What I take from writers I like is their economy - the ability to use language to very effective ends. The ability to have somebody read something and see it, or for somebody to paint an entire landscape of visual imagery with just sheets of words - that's magical.”
“They say that when a man faces his destiny, the destiny ends and he becomes the man that he really is.”
“Fear not of men because men must die. Mind over matter and soul before flesh.”
“Hip-hop is a beautiful culture. It's inspirational, because it's a culture of survivors. You can create beauty out of nothingness.”
“Speech is my hammer bang the world into shape now let it fall - HUNGH”
“Think globally, act locally”
“We blasted holes in the night until she bled sunshine”