Yasiin Bey, aka Mos Def, was arrested in January after trying to leave South Africa on a world passport, which the country does not recognize as a legal travel document.

The Sound

Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) doesn’t come out of hiding a lot. The only occasions grand enough for his presence is a closing guest spot on an A$AP Rocky album and a Kendrick Lamar live performance of “Alright.” We learned about the latter this weekend. The surprise appearance, recorded by Pigeons & Planes, came at the Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal, […]

Word?

Zoe Kravitz might be the apple of almost every man’s eye these days, but it looks like one rapper in particular has caught her eye,…

News, Prime

Ever since being barred from entering the U.S., Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, has kept himself out of the public. Aside from making a public appearance with Dave Chappelle, the rapper/actor had a relatively quiet 2014. But he broke his silence recently with a three-minute reflection on the events that have transpired around the nation […]

When  it comes to acquiring knowledge, the best place to be is at the feet of elders. The wisdom elders share is so necessary for your life that they could tell you something and it not manifest in your life until years later. Rapper Phonte got that experience through dealing with Mos Def. In a […]

Amerigo Gazaway continues his creative management of a musical fantasy league where he pairs up the best voices of contrasting eras and genres. In his latest “mash-up” he pairs Yasiin Bey (aka the Mighty Mos Def) and the legendary Marvin Gaye for a soul stirring collection called “Yasiin Gaye: The Departure (Side One).” Amerigo Gazaway’s […]

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has inspired many people to become the best possible people  they could simply by living his life. Because Ali’s influence can still be felt today, one rapper is choosing to honor Muhammad Ali by dropping three exclusive songs.   Rapper/actor Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) posted a video on Youtube where he […]

Entertainment, Music

There are not many artists in today’s Hip-Hop landscape that will ride for the cause until the wheels fall off like Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def. There was a time when social commentary and political activism was the primary objective of premier Hip-Hop artists and their associates, but during the culture’s most widely recognized creative […]

As the holy time of Ramadan begins, there are detainies still continuing their protest of Guantanamo Bay through a hunger strike. Out of the 100 people participating in the hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, more than 40 are being forced to eat. A federal document complete with detailed instructions and procedures for force-feeding detainees has […]

     It is difficult to come up with any good reasons to keep the stop and frisk laws around, considering there hasn’t been any real benefit to it over the last few years. Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) teamed up with CCR Justice for a PSA to give light on the harmful impact of stop-and-frisk. […]

Okay, so this might be one of the coolest ideas ever. Rappers always rep where they’re from, so why not put up street signs at the actual intersections or neighborhood where famous lyrics came from? Artist Jay Shells took the time to make signs and put them all over New York City. You might even […]

Depending on who you ask, Philadelphia rapper Freeway is a rapper who has been slept on for his whole career. Others will say the only reason he was ever hot is because of the Jay-Z cosign. However, Freeway silenced a great deal of his critics with his fourth album Diamond In The Ruff. In an […]