1247: Mos Def, Yasiin Bey
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/28
1998
“The city never sleeps, full of villains and creeps / That’s where I learned to do my hustle, had to scuffle with freaks”
1999
“I ain’t no perfect man, I’m trying to do the best that I can with what it is I have”
2000
“That’s what we suffer from as a people on this continent jettisoned from our history. The present is a product of the past.”
2003
“Fame is like getting across the street. It’s like, if there’s nothing to be across the street for, it’s a pointless destination.”
2009
“We are alive in amazing times / Delicate hearts, diabolical minds”
“If ‘Life in Marvelous Times’ can’t get on the radio, then I don’t need to be on the radio.”
2012
“I began to fear that Mos Def was being treated as a product, not a person, so I’ve been going by Yasiin since ’99. At first it was just for friends and family, but now I’m declaring it openly.”
2016
“I’m retiring this year for real. I’m retiring, guys!”
2017
“I’m always going to be creating. … I’m not going to disappear if I stop rap or doing it in a certain type of way.”
2024
“First of all, I don’t hate anyone. My opinion is mine. It’s legal in all states, as far as I’m aware. It was not an opportunity to try to slander him or to clown on him.”
“I will say this — the young man is very talented. He’s been able to be very successful with that talent, and I have no issue with his success or anything that he’s been able to achieve as a result of his talent.”
“You are a very talented MC. But for me, I require more of myself and others than just talent or charm or charisma — particularly in times of urgent crisis.”
“What I would like to see, in terms of creators or creative people in the world as it relates to our culture, is for people to connect with us beyond the jukebox or the dance floor.”
“A fair‑weather friend can hardly be called a friend at all. The people that party with you, that’s cool, but will they show up if you at the triage, or you in a crisis situation?”
2025
“The music industry of now makes the one I started out in seem charitable. It’s completely exploitative.”
“That shit is gross, paying people part of a penny for their music. Those motherfuckers are cold blooded, man like Scrooge McDuck, lickin’ his lips as he jumps into a pool of gold coins.”
“I’m just happy to be alive, to be able to create art and beauty, to the best of my ability. Like, to be a human being is a miracle. We’re on this spaceship, planet Earth, sharing this experience, and it’s crazy. Like, who needs peyote? We’re already in outer space, baby.”
“Fashion week is exhausting, especially when you be swagging this hard.”
“People see me and be like: ‘What’s the event?’ Today. Life is the event.”
“I’m a Hollywood runaway — don’t tell ’em my whereabouts!”
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