Biography

Early life

Dante Terell Smith was born to Sheron Smith and Abdul Rahman. He has younger brothers -- Abdul Rahman, a.k.a. "Gold Medal Man," who is Mos' full-time DJ, and Anwar Superstar, famous for his collaboration with world renowned electronica DJ's The Chemical Brothers on their 2006 Grammy-winning album Push The Button, for the politically charged song "Left Right" (Astralwerks), and for his most recent collaboration with Mos Def on the song titled "Here Comes The Champ," featured on the critically acclaimed video game soundtrack for NBA 2K7 produced by Dan The Automator, (Dan The Automator Presents: NBA 2K7); DCQ (Medina Green, Cross Town Beef). He also has a younger sister, Ces. He grew up during the golden age of hip-hop and has been rapping and acting since he was 9 years old.

Rap career

Mos Def began his music career in 1994 in 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 their debut album Manifest Destiny was not released until 2004, when it was distributed by 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 as producer on most of the tracks.

Mos Def released his solo debut Black on Both Sides, in 1999 through Rawkus Records. Def was also featured on Rawkus' influential Lyricist Lounge and Soundbombing series of compilations. After the collapse of Rawkus, he signed to Interscope/Geffen Records, which released his second solo album The New Danger in 2004.

"The New Danger" received criticism from fans and critics for its eclectic mix of several musical genres, including soul, blues and rock and roll, performed with his rock band Black Jack Johnson. Black Jack Johnson contained members of the bands Bad Brains and Living Colour.

Mos Def has drawn some criticism from his fan base about "keeping it real" after he appeared in a commercial that endorsed the GMC Denali sport utility vehicle. Mos Def's final solo album for Geffen Records,True Magic, was quietly released on December 29, 2006. 2007 saw the release of another solo album: Mos Definite. This album was released under the Frequent M (Groove Attack) label.

Throughout his music career he has received several Grammy Award nominations, first for "Ghetto Rock" from his 2004 album The New Danger, and then in 2007, when "Undeniable" was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance.

Acting career

Mos Def's background in film and theater date back to his days at New York University, studying experimental theater. He 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.

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 in 2003.

In television, Mos Def has appeared on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show, and has hosted the award-winning HBO spoken word show, Def Poetry since its inception. The show's sixth season aired in 2007. He also appeared on the sitcom My Wife And Kids as the Uncle of Michael Kyle's (Damon Wayans) children.

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. During the first season of Boondocks, Mos starred as "Gangstalicious". 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 playing himself in the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

He is also a co-star with Jack Black in the new movie Be Kind Rewind. The movie is about two video rental store employees(Mos Def and Jack Black) mistakenly erase the stores tapes. To hide the truth from their boss they start filming their own versions of the movies. After filming their Ghostbusters they become local celebrities until the FBI starts asking questions.

Personal life

Mos Def was first exposed to Islam at age 13 by his father. He became a Muslim at age 19 after getting to know Muslim rappers including Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip of the group A Tribe Called Quest.

Mos Def was married to Maria Yepes-Smith for 9 years before filing for divorce in 2005. As part of the divorce settlement, he was to pay $10,000 a month (starting January 2006) in child support to his 7 and 10 year old daughters. On February 14, 2006 after paying $2000 less than the required value for two months in a row, a judge ordered him to pay the full amount. He reportedly has five children in total.

He has recently taken up skateboarding and said he's looking to host a skateboarding event in the United Arab Emirates.

In 2007

Mos Def appears alongside Kanye West on the track "Drunk and Hot Girls" and the bonus track "Good Night" off the highly anticipated album, Graduation. It is unknown if he will be releasing another solo album. Mos Def is also releasing a pair of Converse shoes. Mos Def also appears on the debut album from fellow New Yorkers, Apollo Heights on a track titled, "Concern". In October, Mos signed a deal with Downtown Records and appeared on a remix to the song "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice.

On November 7th, Mos Def performed live in San Francisco at a venue called The Mezzanine. This performance was recorded for an upcoming "Live in Concert" DVD. During this performance, he sang quite a few new tracks which may be appearing on an upcoming album. He is to be appearing on GZA's fifth solo album, Pro Tools, due out in January 2008 as well as Beanie Sigel's album The Solution.

In 2008

In recent shows Mos Def has played new songs from his album said to be named "The Ecstatic". He has shown crowds tracks written and produced by Madlib and has rumored to be going to Kanye West for new material. The album is said to be released in February 2008.

At a gig in London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 23rd November 2007, Mos Def played a number of the new tracks which received a brilliant reaction from the sold out venue. Mos Def was excited about it and said the crowds reception was just "fuckin awesome". The title is inspired by the title of a book written by a New Yorker. The crowd went ballistic when he played his classics like, Brooklyn and Umi Says, and when London rapper Kano joined him on stage. Mos Def was overwhelmed by the audience's participation, generally, but especially on Umi Says.

Social and political views

By the early 1990s, a brand of socially conscious hip hop that had been popularized by A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, and many others 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 hip-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 "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 him 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-Semitic for its veiled reference to Israeli American record executive Lyor Cohen (the "tall Israeli" who then was head of the The Island Def Jam Music Group).

Mos and Immortal Technique released a similarly controversial song, "Bin Laden" in 2004, 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", renamed "Dollar Day" for True Magic, (utilizing the instrumental for New Orleans rappers UTP's "Nolia Clap"), a criticism of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. On the night of the MTV Video Music Awards, Mos Def pulled up in front of Radio City Music Hall on a flatbed truck and began performing the "Katrina Clap" single in front of a crowd that quickly gathered around him. He was subsequently arrested despite having a public performance permit in his possession. Video of this can be viewed here .

On September 7, 2007, Mos Def appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher where he stated his belief that Al-Qaeda was not responsible for 9/11, that the Apollo Moon landings were a hoax and that Al-Qaeda is not responsible for as much terrorism as they are portrayed to be. When Bill Maher said that there are places in the Qu'ran that (in his opinion) support the forced converting and killing of infidels, Mos Def said that he has read the text and found no such parts. To this, Maher sarcastically replied "I must be reading from a bad translation". Mos Def also spoke about racism against African Americans citing the government response to Hurricane Katrina, the Jena Six and the murder conviction of Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Awards/Nominations

• Black Movie Awards
  • 2006, Best Supporting Actor: 16 Blocks (nominated)

• Black Reel Awards
  • 2003, Best Actor- Independent: Civil Brand (nominated)
  • 2004, Best Supporting Actor: The Italian Job (nominated)
  • 2005, Best Actor TV Movie/Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made (nominated)
  • 2005, Best Actor Independent: The Woodsman

• Emmy Award
  • 2004, Best Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made (nominated)

• Golden Globes
  • 2005, Best Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made (nominated)

• Image Awards
  • 2003, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Brown Sugar (nominated)
  • 2005, Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made (nominated)

Discography

• 1998: Black Star with Black Star (hip hop group)
• 1999: Black on Both Sides
• 2004: The New Danger
• 2006: True Magic
• 2007: Mos Definite
• 2008: The Ecstatic

Filmography