Rap career:
Mos Def began his performing career on the television show The Cosby Mysteries in 1994. In 1994, Mos also began his music career, forming the short-lived group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD) with his younger brother DCQ and his younger sister Ces. Despite being signed to Payday Records, the group only released two singles and the group's debut album, Manifest Destiny, did not see the light of day until 2004 when released through Illson Media. In 1996 he emerged as a solo artist, working with De La Soul and Da Bush Babees before releasing his own first single, "Universal Magnetic" which was a huge underground hit. After signing with Rawkus Records, he and Talib Kweli released a full length album under the band name Black Star, entitled Black Star. It was released in 1998, with Hi-Tek producing most of the tracks. Mos Def released his solo debut, Black on Both Sides, in 1999. Filled with tracks raving about his hometown, Brooklyn and his love for Hip-Hop, Black on Both Sides also deals with racial profiling of Black men in America, with the track Mr Nigga. Mos Def was also featured on Rawkus' influential The Lyricist Lounge and Soundbombing series compilations. After the collapse of Rawkus, Def along with Kweli signed on to Interscope/Geffen Records, who released his second album The New Danger in 2004. In early 2005 Mos Def was rumored to join Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella record label, but this was later denied by the artist himself claiming "Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella would never allow me to release songs I plan on putting out there. I ain't down with that commercial non-sense. I'm about to deal with the fake with my next album, from George Bush to 50 Cent." But, after making that comment, Mos Def was featured rapping on a SUV commercial, endorsing the GMC Denali. Mos Def is projected to release his last solo album on Geffen Records, The Undeniable Free Flaco in early 2006. His 4th studio album The Ecstatic was released June 9, 2009 on Downtown Records. It serves as Mos Def's second highest charting album to date. Upon its release, The Ecstatic received general acclaim from most music critics, and it earned Mos Def a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album. Rolling Stone magazine named it the seventeenth best album of 2009.
Impact on hip-hop
The artistic boundaries of hip-hop and rap music had been redefined by artists such as Brand Nubian, De La Soul, and Public Enemy, whose music was more thematically sophisticated and socially conscious than that of their predecessors. By the early 1990s however, this brand of rap had been eclipsed in popularity by gangsta rap. Socially aware rap music (alternative hip hop) has experienced something of a renaissance in the late 1990s and now the 2000s, in part due to artists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, The Roots and others. "Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are … Blackstar" Mos Def's collaboration with Talib Kweli was released during the aftermath of the deaths of 2pac and The Notorious B.I.G. sparking a rebirth of "aware" and "intelligent" hip-hop. Def's music often references 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 few actual 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 "The 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
The lyrics would seem to have chafed with higher-placed executives, who made Mos take the song off of later releases of the album, supposedly for "sample clearance issues".
In September 2005, Mos Def released the single "Katrina Clap" (utilizing the instrumental for Juvenile's "Nolia Clap"), a critical reaction to the lack of response by the Bush administration to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. He probably chose the "Nolia Clap" instrumental because the rapper Juvenile hails from New Orleans, and the song was a hit in the New Orleans area before the hurricane.
Mos Def also collaborated with Kanye West on West's track named "two words" and appeared in the music video.
Acting career
The first years of the 2000s have established Mos Def as a notable actor. His performances in Brown Sugar, Monster's Ball, and the HBO made-for-TV film Something The Lord Made have been particularly acclaimed by critics. Having been nominated for several awards, Mos finally broke through, winning Best Actor, Independent Movie at the 2005 Black Reel Awards for his portrayal of Sgt. Lucas in The Woodsman. He also landed the role of Ford Prefect in the long-awaited 2005 movie adaption of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Notably, in 2002 he played the role of Booth in Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog, a Tony-nominated and Pulitzer-winning Broadway play. He has also been a musical guest and participated in many skits on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show.
In 2004, he hosted the MOBO awards in London, after the original presenter, Pharrell Williams pulled out at the last minute.
He has been the host of the award-winning spoken word show Def Poetry Jam since its inception. The show's sixth season aired in February 2007.
Discography
* 1998 Black Star (released with Talib Kweli under the name Black Star) Priority Records
* 1999 Black on Both Sides Rawkus Records
* 2004 The New Danger Geffen
o nominated for Best Urban/Alternative
Performance, 47th Annual Grammy Awards
* 2006 True Magic
* 2009 THE Ecstatic Downtown Records
* 2010 Mos Dub
Selected Filmography
* Cadillac Records (2009)
* Be Kind Rewind (2008)
* Talladega Nights (2006) (a quick cameo)
* Dreamgirls (2006)
* Bobby (2006)
* The Brazilian Job (2006) (pre-production)
* 16 Blocks (2006)
* The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005).
* Lackawanna Blues (2005)
* Something the Lord Made (2004)
o nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, 56th Annual Emmy Awards
o nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television, 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards
* Chapelle Show (? year) - Black Delegation Rep for Racial Draft
* The Woodsman (2004)
* The Italian Job (2003)
* Brown Sugar (2002)
* Civil Brand (2002)
* Showtime (2002)
* Monster's Ball (2001)
* Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
* Bamboozled (2000)
* Where's Marlowe? (1998)
In September 2011, Mos Def announced that he planned to use the name Yasiin Bey instead of Mos Def beginning in 2012.
http://www.myspace.com/mosdef
A Ha )
Mos Def Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ha ha bust it yo
Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner
Sometimes I feel like my only friend
Is the city I live in, is beautiful Brooklyn
Long as I live here believe I'm on fire hey
Cause it's the B-the-R-the-O-the-O-K
L-Y-N is the place where I stay
Best in the world and all USA
It's the B-to-the-R-the-O-the-O-K
L-Y-N is the place where I stay
The B-to-the-R-the-O-the-O-K
Place where I rest is on my born day
Bust it, sometimes I sit back and just reflect
Watch the world go by and my thought connect
I think about the time past and the time to come
Reminisce on Bed-Stuy when I was pride and young
I used to try and come, to the neighborhood function
Throw on my Izod, say a little something
When I was just a youngin, before the days of thugging
How me and Charlie Chims (hey yo what?) I'm only bugging
Fast forward, Nine-Now I gotta team my seed
I must proceed at God's speed to perform my deed
Living the now space and time, round the nine to five
For as long as I'm alive, paw I got to strive
I ain't sitting roadside, that ain't harder to plan
I'm out here for my fam doing all that I can
I love my city, sweet and gritty in land to outskirts
Nickname Bucktown cause we grown to outburst
Philosophy redefine us, touch mines I touch back
Walk the streets like a sweet and get beat like drum tracks
Catch no shakes over jakes (boomp-boomp! ) we bust back
Bring the Marty to your face wit no place to run back
I'm from the slums that created the bass that thump back
This ain't a game clown, play ya James Brown and jump back
What you want, Jack? Young cats stash they jums at
Draw they guns back, momma screams where she sons at
Trying to hunt that, recurring dream of high stakes
The fourth largest, first artist, Brooklyn is the place
Settled by the judge many years ago
Three billion strong and here we go
Good morning Vietnam!
Ha (back up back up back up back up back up) [repeated in background]
Yo sometimes I sit back, reflect on the place that I live at
Unlike any place I ever been at
The home of big gats, deep dish hammer rim caps
Have a mishap, push ya wig back
Where you go to get the fresh trim at
Four on the Jake got the Timb rack
Blue collars metro carding it
Thugs mobbing it, form partnership
Increase armorment, street pharmacist
Deep consequence, when you seek sleek ornaments
You get caught, rode the white horse and can't get off
Big dogs that trick off just get sent off
They shoebox stash is all they seeds gotta live off
It's real yo but still yo, it's love here
And it's felt by anybody that come here
Out of towners take the train, plane and bus here
Must be something that they really want here
One year as a resident, deeper sentiment
Shout out "Go Brooklyn!", they representing it
Sitting on they front stoop sipping Guinesses
Using native dialect in they sentences
From the treeline blocks to the tenements
To the Mom & Pop local shop menaces
Travel all around the world in great distances
And ain't a place that I know that bear resemblance
That's why we it The Planet
Not a borough or a prov, it's our style that's uncalm
From sun to the? to the Lafayette Gardens
White coff guawinas in they army jacket linings
Yo this goes out to my cats in Coney Isle
Friday night out in front The Himalaya going wild
This goes out to Crown Heights and Smurv Village
The nighties, and all my yarda trenny Brown's Village
Parkside tennants caught, thirties, forties, and the fifties
The cats out in Starite City getting busy
To the Hook, to the East, to the Stuy
Bushwick and Kanarcy, Farraget, Fullgreen, and Marcy
My Flatbush posse, generals of armies
When it's time to form, just call me
And let this song be, playing loud in Long B
If you love Bucktown strongly!
Raise it up!
Brooklyn my habitat, the place where it happen at
Live sway and the sharp balance of the battle axe
Irons is brandished at, thugs draw they hammer back
It's where you find the news tool crew cameras at
It's where my fam is at, summertime jame is at
They play Big and get you open like a sandal back
Hotter than candle wax, hustling you can't relax
The crack babies trying to find where they mama's at
It's off the handle black, wit big police scandals that
Turn into actions screenplays sold to Miramax
The type of place where they check your appearance at
And cats who know where all the hot 'lo gear is at
The stomping grounds, where you find a pound, smoke is that
Be blazing charm that have your wave cap floating back
The doorstep where the dispossessed posted at
Dope fiends out at Franklin Ave selling zovarax
You big balling better keep your money folded back
Cause once the young guns notice that it's over, black
Brooklyn keep on taking it, worldwide we known for that
Flossy cats get it snatched like the local tax
The place I sharpen up my baritone vocals at
Where one of the greatest MC's was a local cat
In Mos Def's song A Ha, the artist reflects on his life and experiences growing up in Brooklyn. He begins by acknowledging the feeling of loneliness that sometimes creeps up on him, but ultimately celebrates the city that he calls home. He revels in the unique culture and diversity that Brooklyn represents, from the slang of the streets to the neighborhood functions where he used to try and make an impression. The song is a tribute to the people of Brooklyn, from the white-collar workers who commute to the deep consequence that comes with seeking out sleek ornaments.
As the song progresses, Mos Def dives deeper into the realities of life in Brooklyn. He acknowledges the deep-seated issues that come with living in tough neighborhoods, such as drug addiction and police scandals. But he also recognizes the spirit of resistance and resilience that the people of Brooklyn embody. The song is ultimately a love letter to the place he calls home.
One interesting aspect of this song is that it was released in 1999, before Brooklyn's rapid gentrification began. Mos Def is praising the Brooklyn of the past, the one that was still largely inhabited by working-class and immigrant communities. Today, Brooklyn is one of the most expensive and exclusive neighborhoods in New York City.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner
At times, I feel alone and unsupported by others.
Sometimes I feel like my only friend
I feel that the only true connection I have to the world is through the city I live in.
Is the city I live in, is beautiful Brooklyn
My connection to the city is rooted in the beauty and uniqueness of Brooklyn.
Long as I live here believe I'm on fire hey
As long as I reside in Brooklyn, I feel a sense of energy and passion.
Cause it's the B-the-R-the-O-the-O-K
This is a tribute to the unique spelling and sound of the name Brooklyn.
L-Y-N is the place where I stay
I reside in the place known as B-R-O-O-K-L-Y-N.
Best in the world and all USA
Brooklyn is the best place in the world and the United States.
Sometimes I sit back and just reflect
I take time to think about my past and present experiences.
Reminisce on Bed-Stuy when I was pride and young
I reminisce about my youth and the time I spent in Bed-Stuy with pride.
I used to try and come, to the neighborhood function
I used to attend community events and be an active member of my neighborhood.
When I was just a youngin, before the days of thugging
In my younger days, I was not yet involved in the illegal activities that are often associated with Brooklyn.
Fast forward, Nine-Now I gotta team my seed
Now, as an adult, I have a family to support and care for.
I'm out here for my fam doing all that I can
I am doing everything I can to take care of and provide for my family.
I love my city, sweet and gritty in land to outskirts
I have a deep love for Brooklyn, from the urban areas to the more rural outskirts.
Philosophy redefine us, touch mines I touch back
Our collective philosophy and experiences define us as individuals, and when we share our stories, we connect on a deeper level.
Walk the streets like a sweet and get beat like drum tracks
Walking through the streets of Brooklyn is like being part of an energetic and rhythmic beat, but it can also be dangerous and violent.
This ain't a game clown, play ya James Brown and jump back
Life in Brooklyn is not a game, and if you mess around, you could get hurt or worse.
Trying to hunt that, recurring dream of high stakes
Many people in Brooklyn are chasing the dream of hitting it big and escaping poverty, but it can often lead them to dangerous and illegal behavior.
The fourth largest, first artist, Brooklyn is the place
Brooklyn is the fourth largest city in the United States, but it is also known for being the birthplace of many artists and cultural movements.
It's felt by anybody that come here
Anyone who comes to Brooklyn can feel the energy and passion of the people who live here.
To the Mom & Pop local shop menaces
Even small, locally-owned businesses in Brooklyn can have a powerful impact on the community.
The cats out in Starite City getting busy
The people in Starite City are always active and hustling to make a better life for themselves and their families.
The place I sharpen up my baritone vocals at
Brooklyn is where I refine my skills as a musician and artist.
Lyrics © Roba Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SYLVESTER STEWART, DANTE SMITH, MARK RICHARDSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ajesam George
on Ms. Fat Booty
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