Born in Brooklyn, New York as Dante Beze, Mos Def began rhyming at the age of nine and formed his own group, Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD), with this brother and sister. They were then invited to join the Native Tongues Family founded by Afrika Bambaataa, which included members such as De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. Being one of the best of Native Tongue Rapper in the 1990s new school, Mos Def guest-starred with old-school Native Tongues De La Soul and recorded for Rawkus Records, home of independent-minded rap of the '90s.
Working alongside Native Tongue rappers, such as Common and the Bush Babees, Mos Def appeared on the forth De La Soul LP, Stakes Is High. He also contributed a verse on the second Bush Babees album, then released his first single "The Universal Magnetic" for the seminal rap independent Rawkus.
Mos Def recorded his debut album, Black Star, with Talib Kweli that was released in September 1998. While Puff Daddy and his followers continues to dictate the direction hip-hop should take on for the new millennium, Mos Def and Talib Kweli surfaced the underground to pull sounds in the opposite direction. Def and Kweli used jazz-rooted rhythms to call out for awareness and freedom of the mind.
In the fall of 1999, Mos Def released his album, Black on Both Sides. As his portray his strong lyrics, he maintains the soulful nature and purpose of the album. With the help of his producers and artist such as Ayatollah, Ali Shaheed Muhammed and DJ Premier, this latest album, along with all his other works of masterpiece, will please hip-hop fans for years to come.
The Mos Def Archive: features photo gallery and discography
Urban Showcase starring the one and only Mos Def
Back To The TopA Hip Hop Database where Mos Def's lyrics can be found
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