No Rest for the Mos Def
Is There Anything This Cat Can't do?

By Dominick Scala

Mos Def was born Dante Terrell Smith in Brooklyn, December of 1973.  It was a perfect storm, so to speak, that Mos Def grew up the time and a place where hip hop first emerged and planted its roots in American culture.

In his late teens he became Muslim after being exposed to the religion through friends in the musical group A Tribe Called Quest.  Soon after, he began his music career with his younger brother and sister in a project called Urban Thermo Dynamics.  This was a short lived project and Mos Def eventually went solo releasing his own single ‘Universal Magnetic’ which garnered a sizable fan base.  

Mos Def signed with Rawkus Records in the late ’90s and collaborated with MC Talib Kweli, eventually forming a group called Black Star. Their first record spawned the single “Definition” and was ranked 85 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.  Shortly after, Mos Def released his first solo album “Black on Both Sides.”  After the collape of Rawkus, Mos Def signed with Interscope/Geffen Records.  “New Danger” was his first major label release incorporating a mix of blues, soul and rock ’n’ roll layered with politically-charged lyrics.  The New Danger went on to receive several Grammy nominations later in 2004. 

In 2006 Mos Def released his third and last record for Geffen, “True Magic,” which was received more like a “contractual obligation” than a work of art.  But Mos Def re-emerged this past June with “The Ecstatic” and the record hit the Billboard 200 at no. 9.  With gritty samples, a somewhat spooky atmosphere, smooth lyric flows and intelligently written lyrics, “The Ecstatic” could very well be a hip hop classic. 

I suppose it is just not enough that Mos Def can rap, sing, write, read poetry, play percussive and stringed instruments. He also has a thriving acting and television career, having appeared in more than 30 films such as “Monsters Ball,” “16 Blocks,” and “Be Kind Rewind.”  He has hosted the award-winning HBO series Def Poetry, appeared in Dave Chappell’s Bloc Party and played the role of Booth for five months on Broadway in the play “Topdog/Underdog.”

Mos Def is of the most creative and driven individuals producing today.  Every aspect of his artistry seems to have a common thread, an agenda if you will, and not only as an outlet for his political views. 

Mos Def will perform at the AdrienneArshtCenterin Miami on Aug. 15 at 8 p.m.  Tickets are $32 to $59, available at arshtcenter.org.

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