Background and career
Yasiin Bey ( yass-EEN BAY; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( MOHSS DEF), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip-hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social and political issues, such as police brutality, American exceptionalism, and the status of African Americans in the United States. After embarking on his career in 1994, he joined his siblings in the short-lived rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD) and guest appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. In 1996, he and fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli formed the duo Black Star, whose debut album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star (1998) spawned the singles "Definition" and "Respiration" (featuring Common). His debut solo album, Black on Both Sides (1999), was met with critical acclaim, along with his fourth album, The Ecstatic (2009). Bey's 2000 single, "Oh No" (with Pharoahe Monch featuring Nate Dogg) remains his sole entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo act.
In 2014, About.com listed him 14th on its "50 Greatest Rappers of All Time". A 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. He hosted Def Poetry Jam from 2002 to 2007.
Yasiin Bey was born on December 11, 1973, in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Sheron Smith and Abdulrahman Smith. The eldest of 12 children and step-children, he was raised by his mother in Brooklyn, while his father lived in New Jersey. 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. Bey was not exposed to Islam until the age of 13. He is close friends with fellow Muslim hip-hop artists Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip. Bey attended middle school at Philippa Schuyler Middle School in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where he developed his love for acting. While in high school at the then Julia Richman Talent Unlimited (TU) program he made his acting debut in the film, God Bless the Child starring Mare Winningham in 1988. From there he appeared in two television sitcoms, You Take the Kids and Here and Now. 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.
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, which he largely avoided by working on plays, Off-Off-Broadway and arts programs. In a particularly traumatic childhood experience, Bey witnessed his then five-year-old younger brother, Ilias Bey (born Denard Smith), being hit by a car. Ilias later adopted the alias DCQ and was described by Bey as "my first partner in hip-hop".
