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
I Against I
Mos Def Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I against I
Flesh of my flesh
And mind of my mind
Two of a kind but one won't survive
My images reflect in the enemies eye
And his images reflect in mine the same time
I-ya, I-ya
Flesh of my flesh
And mind of my mind
Two of a kind but one won't survive
Right here is where the end gon' start at
Conflict, contact 'n' combat
Fighters stand where the land is marked at
Settle the dispute about who the livest
3 word answer
Whoever survive this
Only one of us can ride forever
So you and I can't ride together
Can't live or can't die together
All we can do is collide together
So I skillfully apply the pressure
Won't stop until I'm forever... one!
A door step where death never come
Spread across time til my time never done
And I'm never done
Walk tall, why ever run?
When they move if I ever come?
Bad man never fret the war, tell'em come
General we have the stock, the mad fire burn
I-ya
I against I
Flesh of my flesh
And mind of my mind
Two of a kind but one won't survive
My images reflect in the enemies eye
And his images reflect in mine the same time
I-ya, I-ya
I against I
Flesh of my flesh
And mind of my mind
Two of a kind but one won't survive
Survive (x16)
Reign supreme in your you-N-I
V-E-are-S-E with the sharpness
Narrow row building no space for partners
No space for drivers, no space for walkers
No space regardless
Your on my path then get off it
Hardheaded and unresponsive
Get they lives put on target with harshness
Come with the canons sparkin' they darken
Who am I? one man squadron
Ma stir the fire this time that'd snatch your tomorrow
The thousand yard spear that'll pierce through your armor
You can get it on right now if you want to
But when ya front 9 get marched through
I warned you
You know who forever belong to
I-ya, I-ya
I against I
Flesh of my flesh
And mind of my mind
Two of a kind but one won't survive
My images reflect in the enemies eye
And his images reflect in mine the same time
I-ya, I-ya
I against I
Flesh of my flesh
And mind of my mind
Two of a kind but one won't survive
My images reflect in the enemies eye
And his images reflect in mine, survive
Survive (x16)
The song "I Against I" by Mos Def is a powerful exploration of the conflict between two people who are so alike that they are virtually the same person. The lyrics paint a picture of two individuals fighting to the death, with no room for compromise or peaceful coexistence. The flesh and minds of both fighters are described as being mirror images of each other, so that they are constantly reflecting each other's strengths and weaknesses back at each other.
The chorus of the song, "I against I, flesh of my flesh, and mind of my mind, two of a kind but one won't survive," emphasizes the central message of the song - that in this primal battle, there can be no winner. The lyrics speak to the idea that sometimes, the only way to resolve a conflict is through an all-out war, with one person ultimately emerging victorious while the other succumbs to defeat.
The verses of the song are just as powerful, with Mos Def assuming an adversarial tone as he describes the two fighters' existential struggle. The lyrics are full of violent imagery, from the sharpness of the fighters' weapons to the fire that will "snatch your tomorrow" and the spears that will "pierce through your armor." At the same time, the lyrics also contain an element of resigned acceptance, as Mos Def acknowledges that the two fighters are so perfectly suited to each other that the only possible outcome is total annihilation.
Overall, "I Against I" is a haunting, intense song that explores the darkest corners of the human psyche. Its message is one of brutal honesty, confronting the reality that sometimes, conflict cannot be avoided and that the only option is to fight to the end.
Line by Line Meaning
I-ya
Me against you
I against I
Me against you, a battle of equals
Flesh of my flesh
We are the same kind of people
And mind of my mind
Our thoughts and intelligence are similar
Two of a kind but one won't survive
Despite our similarities, only one of us will come out of this alive
My images reflect in the enemies eye
What I see in my enemy's eyes is a reflection of myself
And his images reflect in mine the same time
What my enemy sees in my eyes is a reflection of himself
I-ya, I-ya
Me against you, a battle of equals
I against I
Me against you, a battle of equals
Right here is where the end gon' start at
This is where our fight to the death begins
Conflict, contact 'n' combat
We will fight until only one of us remains
Fighters stand where the land is marked at
We will fight in the designated area
Settle the dispute about who the livest
We will determine who is the strongest
3 word answer
The winner is simply whoever survives
Whoever survive this
The winner of this fight
Only one of us can ride forever
Only one of us will come out of this alive
So you and I can't ride together
Only one of us will come out of this alive, we cannot both win or coexist
Can't live or can't die together
We cannot both win or coexist, we must fight until only one is standing
All we can do is collide together
Our fighting will be a destructive collision
So I skillfully apply the pressure
I will use my skills to prevail in this fight
Won't stop until I'm forever... one!
I will keep fighting until I am the only one left standing
A door step where death never come
I will continue to fight and never fall to death
Spread across time til my time never done
My legacy will continue even after my death
And I'm never done
I will never stop fighting
Walk tall, why ever run?
I will face my opponent with courage and not run away
When they move if I ever come?
If my enemy tries to escape, I will still find them
Bad man never fret the war, tell'em come
I am not afraid of war, and I challenge my enemy to face me
General we have the stock, the mad fire burn
I am well-prepared for this fight and I burn with passion to win
Reign supreme in your you-N-I
Be the best version of yourself and fight to win
V-E-are-S-E with the sharpness
Be skilled and precise in your fighting
Narrow row building no space for partners
This is a battle with no allies or room for cooperation
No space for drivers, no space for walkers
This is a fight that requires aggressive action
No space regardless
There is no room for error in this fight
Your on my path then get off it
If you stand in my way, be prepared to fight or step aside
Hardheaded and unresponsive
My opponent is stubborn and unwilling to cooperate
Get they lives put on target with harshness
I will fight to take their life with force and brutality
Come with the canons sparkin' they darken
The fight will be intense and destructive
Who am I? one man squadron
I am a strong and skilled individual fighter
Ma stir the fire this time that'd snatch your tomorrow
I am fueled with passion to fight and win
The thousand yard spear that'll pierce through your armor
My fighting skills will penetrate any defense
You can get it on right now if you want to
We can begin the fight whenever you're ready
But when ya front 9 get marched through
When I defeat my opponent, they will be humiliated and disgraced
I warned you
I have given you fair warning about the consequences of this fight
You know who forever belong to
The winner of this fight will forever be known as the strongest
Survive (x16)
Only one of us will come out of this fight alive
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: NEIL DAVIDGE, ROBERT DEL NAJA, GRANTLEY MARSHALL, DANTE SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@drillmack
Still goes hard in 2024 🔥
@lalhuliengangte5064
2022 Dec still like the rap
@O-townplaya
@@lalhuliengangte5064 indeed
@user-fg4zb5mu9b
2023 baby
@justiceanxiety8214
2023! whoooooooooo!
@drillmack
@@justiceanxiety8214 let's gooooooo!
@SpartanFret
Mos Def didn't get the recognition that he totally deserves. He is one of the greatest rappers to ever touch the mic.
@dragomirmitsov6395
Absolutely!
@dragulaxis
world know him, world love him
same about massive attack
@jonathanmacneil4359
Being underrated is underrated 😎