Dante Terrell Smith, Mos Def’s birth name, was given to him on December 11, 1973. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York City, with his mother, Sheron Smith, and in New Jersey with his father, Abdulrahman Smith. He is the eldest of twelve children and went to middle school in Bushwisk, Brooklyn, where he began acting. While growing up in New York City, he performed in several plays and participated in Off-Off-Broadway and other art programmes.
Personal Life
Mos Def married Maria Yepes in 1996. They were married for ten years before filing for divorce in 2006. Mos Def has since been in several relationships and has six children in total. Mos Def made headlines in 2016 when he was ordered to leave South Africa for overstaying a tourist visa and living illegally in the country since 2014. He is now prohibited from returning to South Africa.
The artist has been active in a variety of political and social activism movements, generally supporting left-wing political views. He has spoken out against police brutality and violence, as well as the death penalty. He released the single “Katrina Clap” to criticise the Bush administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina. He later appeared on “Real Time with Bill Maher” to discuss racism towards African-Americans, using the hurricane as an example. He has also advocated for environmental rights by appearing in “Pacha’s Pajamas,” a children’s hip-hop musical about the natural world. In 2018, he opened the Compound, a public art gallery in New York City’s South Bronx that aims to bridge the gap between hip-hop and contemporary art.
Mos was sued by his ex-wife in 2006 for failing to pay his court-ordered $10,000 per month child support. Mos claimed in court that he could no longer afford to make the monthly payments due to various business obligations and obligations to his other children. Mos soon relocated from Brooklyn to Cape Town, South Africa. Mos was forced to cancel a US music tour in May 2014 after being denied entry into the country. When deciding whether or not to allow someone back into the country, the US has been known to be very strict in terms of failed child support payments. He was expelled and barred from entering South Africa in 2016.
Career
Mos Def, his younger sister Ces, and his younger brother DCQ formed the group Urban Thermo Dynamics, better known as UTD, in 1994. In 2004, they released their sole album, “Manifest Destiny.” Meanwhile, Mos Def began working as a solo artist and releasing music. In 1997, he released his first single, “Universal Magnetic.” Following this release, he signed with Rawkus Records and formed the rap group Black Star with Talib Kweli. The album “Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star” was released in 1998. The album received positive reviews, and two of its singles, “Respiration” and “Definition,” charted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Mos Def’s first solo album, “Black on Both Sides,” was released the following year, in 1999, and peaked at number 25 on the Billboard 200 chart. “The New Danger,” his second album released by Geffen Records in 2002, peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200 and featured the single “Sex, Love & Money.” This song received a Grammy nomination. In 2006, Mos Def released his final solo album, “True Magic,” on Geffen Records.
Mos Def then decided to collaborate with producer Al Be Black for his next album, “The Ecstatic,” which featured The Neptunes, J. Dilla, and Georgia Anne Muldrow as guests. Mos Def, who was always known for collaborating with other musicians, began frequently appearing on the albums and tracks of some of his friends and other musicians. He sang “Two Worlds” from Kanye West’s acclaimed “The College Dropout Album,” and then on two more tracks from West’s “Graduation Album.” He also collaborated on tracks with Apollo Heights, Justice, Stephen Marley, Gorillaz, and The Roots, to name a few.
In 2011, the artist decided to legally change his name to Yasiin Bey, but he continued to collaborate with other artists, including A$AP Rocky on his second album. He then announced in 2016 that he would be producing his final album and retiring the following year. However, he appeared to have changed his mind as he continued to play shows in 2017 and 2018 and released a new album in 2019 as a musical art installation at Art Basel Hong Kong. “The Source” named Mos Def one of the Top Lyricists of All Time, and About.com ranked him 14th on their list of the Top 50 MCs of All Time. He has also been cited as a musical inspiration by artists such as Kid Cudi, Lupe Fiasco, and Kendrick Lamar.
Mos Def began his career as a child actor, appearing in a number of TV movies, sitcoms, and music videos. One of his first notable roles was in “Brown Sugar,” for which he received Image Award and Teen Choice Award nominations. He co-starred with Beyonce in the MTV film “Carmen: A Hip Hopera,” and he also appeared in the 2003 film “The Italian Job.”
He received a Special Award from the Outer Critics Circle Awards for his performance in “Topdog/Underdog,” a Broadway play that won a Pulitzer Prize and was nominated for a Tony Award. His roles in “The Woodsman,” “Something the Lord Made,” and “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” brought him more success and critical acclaim. He later co-starred with Jack Black in the film “Be Kind Rewind” and played Chuck Berry in “Cadillac Records.” He was nominated for Black Reel Awards and Image Awards for his portrayal.
He has also appeared in a number of television shows, including “Boondocks,” “House,” “Dexter,” and “Yo Gabba Gabba!” He also hosted the HBO show “Def Poetry,” which won several awards.
Net Worth
Mos Def is a $2.5 million net-worth American rapper and actor. Mos Def has been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards, as well as an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe, and an NAACP Image Award during his multi-decade career.
Facts
| Net Worth | $2.5 Million |
| Date of Birth | Dec 11, 1973 (49 years old) |
| Place of Birth | Brooklyn |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.77 m) |
| Profession | Actor, Singer, Television producer, Songwriter, Rapper |
| Nationality | United States of America |
