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
Jam
Mos Def Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
To all my people in the front jam on it {ha ha, ha ha}
To all my people on the side jam on it {he he, he he, right}
So jam on it, say what
[Mos Def]
The sweet old beats my speech radiates
I grab the mic my voice resulates and penetrates
A buck-fifty still swinging like a heavyweight
Me and the lounge about to levitate
You don't believe let me demonstrate
The way we make cats disintegrate
Voice]
Well hold up you got to stop the tape
You got to prove you can rock the bricks
Me and my man going to investigate
The whole way that you operate, cooperate
And what's your name? {Mos Def}
And where you from? {Brooklyn}
And how you living {Very well, very well}
Damn you had to say it twice? {That's right}
So you nice? {Damn right}
[Mos Def]
I rock the party all night all night
{All right, all right}
So why you over here ripping with me?
Trying to prove you position to me?
{Some cats ain't equipped to MC}
But you can see I'm different "G"
The universal magnificently
I rock the party eficiently
From the Brooklyn but centered to (?)
And I do it so lyrically
That you got to give it to me
Like Rick James, I kick game and spit flame
Burning rappers all up out their frame
We get into this vein
From Brownsville all the way down to Brisbean
{Damn this brother's flow is insane}
That's what I've been trying to explain
Got no time to play games
Keep it coming like the next train
Make the party people exclaim
Whenever they hear my name
They go "Mos Def"
Oh yes my style is so fresh
guaranteed to win any MC contest
Old school like the eighty-four fresh dress
You spend you assets to get my cassette
Now that's fresh, the red hook address
Make a cop jealous swell like abscess
I'm shoutin' bigs up to Medina and the rest
Bout' to drop it on your block a high on the press
[Chorus with singing in backround]
I said people in the front jam on it {Say what, say what}
To all my people in the back jam on it {Say what, say what}
To all my people on the side jam on it {Ha ha, ha ha}
Jam on it, Ha ha, ha ha
To all my people in the front jam on it
To all my people in the back jam on it
To all my people on the side jam on it
So jam on it, ha ha, ha ha
[Mos Def]
You see my name is Mos Def and my style will never pest
Brown skinned body-rocking MC
I got the black zodiac and you know it's never whack
Sagitarius definatley
You see it's me and lyricist and we're getting serious about to make another hit
I tell your homeboy chill 'cause' his style ain't ill but it's straight up counterfeit
You see I'm fast or bent or sweet then bullet and when I'm on the set
All the hip-hop fans just raise they hands because the one and only mighty Mos Def
You see I come into the party in a "be -Boy" stance I rock the mic so viciously
So all the real "be -boys" and real "be -Girls" never know others better than me
[Voice]
I said hey Mos Def you can't steal the show
You ain't the only MC out here with flow
I'm the Pro-Castro and I'm letting you know
That I get on the mic and go toe to toe
[Mos Def]
Well cool young brother and just slow you role
'cause' your arm's to shook to have mic control
See I get on the mic and jump off your case
You best get out my face and stay in a child's place
[Voice]
See I get on the mic because I know I can
And I'm fresher than you because I know I am
So when I jump on the stage you better step back
Because your name is Mos Def but your really Mos Whack
[Mos Def]
Uh listen up little brother you ain't grown
The sun is going down you need to take you butt home
And come outside with your whack freestylin'
You should have kept it in the house like Debbie Galler
When I grab the microphone people scream my name
The ain't no sesame street this is a grown-man's lane
See you best heed my words and listen up
Or I'm a tell your momma to whip your butt
[Voice]
Well you ain't my daddy and I'm letting you know
That you can't tell me when it's time to go
See I get on the mic and show you what it's about
'cause' even my momma said knock you out
[Mos Def]
Well if you didn't know baby boy I'm a tell ya'
You need to learn to respect your elders
But since you here and you think you got skill
Then get on the mic and show your real
[Voice]
Well I'm the devastatin' never fakin'
Always keep your body shakin'
Steady rockin' never stoppin'
Keep your body always jockin'
Rock the beat, shock the beat
Till' it's time to stop the beat
Steady moving show improvement
Keep the party keep on groovin'
[Mos Def]
Well hey young blood that was fresh
You just got one hundred on your MC test
You got a soul-shocking body-rocking set you see
You need to pack up your bags and get down with me
[Chorus with singing in backround]
So jam on it, so jam on it
I said jam j-jam j-jam on it
I said were rocking to the bright early morning
I said jam j-jam j-jam on it
This is the one to keep inside the jam
And make you get up and just do that dance
This is the one to keep inside the jam
And make you get up and just clap your hands
New York you got to jam on it
And Atlanta got to jam on it
And BK you got to jam on it
Got to jam on it, you got to jam on it
And Miami you got to jam on it
And California you got to jam on it
(?) got to jam on it
Got to jam on it, got to jam on it
Chicago got to jam on it
And Detroit 'cause' they got to jam on it
And St. Louis got to jam on it
Got to jam on it, got to jam on it
The whole world you got to jam on it
And Brooklyn yes we got to jam on it
The "Lyricist" just to make you jam on it
Make you jam on it, make you jam on it
{And don't you hear the sound...}
{Mos Def and Lyricist Lounge...}
The song "Jam on It" by Mos Def is a classic hip-hop track that features him rapping over a bouncy beat. The lyrics open with him encouraging the crowd to jam on it, and he then proceeds to showcase his skills as an MC. The verses are punctuated by a repeated chorus that emphasizes the need to keep the party going.
Throughout the song, Mos Def showcases his lyrical prowess, delivering lines that reference his hometown of Brooklyn and the various regions where hip-hop is popular, such as Atlanta and California. He also engages in a back-and-forth with another MC, asserting his dominance over him and reminding him to respect his elders. The song is a testament to Mos Def's skill as an MC and his ability to excite a crowd.
One interesting fact about "Jam on It" is that it samples the 1984 song "Jam on It" by Newcleus, a classic hip-hop track that itself features a bouncy beat and catchy chorus. Another interesting fact is that Mos Def was a member of the Lyricist Lounge, a group of MCs and hip-hop artists who performed together and organized events in New York City in the 1990s. The group was known for promoting a more cerebral and socially conscious form of hip-hop that emphasized the power of words and ideas.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
GoodxJ
The world could use a new Mos Def/Yasiin Bey album!!!!!! 🙏🏻🎤💎
BattlePumpkin
Mos definetly, man
72defender
Mos is the platinum standard!
Buil Dinit
TOP 2
THE ROOTS
MOS DEF
OverTimeAngel
This is by far the clearest I’ve seen a def jam video
Dj Jeffro
This comment!!!
VaseLu
haha, thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the quality!
Ares Kahn
Right, this was dope though. Mos Def is so awesome and I'm actually lyrically inspired by him.
kwame stamps
Write on!
Colby Morris
Whenever the shitty modern day excuses for hip hop become to loud. It's nice to shut everything up and kick some old school shit like this. Mos def, black thought, method man. Gotta love the bars