Yasiin Bey

Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, is a rapper, singer and actor from Brooklyn, New York, and one of the founding figures of conscious hip hop. He made his recorded debut in 1998 alongside Talib Kweli as Black Star, releasing the acclaimed album «Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star», before launching his solo career in earnest.

His 1999 solo debut, «Black on Both Sides», was widely praised for its socially conscious lyricism, jazz- and soul-inflected production, and genre-crossing ambition, cementing him as a defining voice of late-1990s New York hip hop. Songs such as «Ms. Fat Booty», «Mathematics», «Hip Hop», «UMI Says», «Mr. Nigga» and «Fear Not of Man» remain touchstones of the era, and later work like «Auditorium» and «Oh No» extended his reputation for dense wordplay and political commentary.

Beginning in 2012 he dropped the Mos Def name in favor of Yasiin Bey, explaining that he wanted to reclaim his identity from being treated as a marketed product. Alongside his music career he has built a substantial acting résumé, and he remains closely associated with the Black Star duo and the broader lineage of politically engaged, artistically adventurous hip hop.