Mos Def

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Viewed, 4866x, Last Updated 2008-02-15

Regarded as one of hip-hop’s most introspective and insightful artists, Mos Def has shaped a career that transcends music genres and artistic medium. A child of hip-hop’s Golden Era, the native Brooklynite spent his childhood imbedded in the culture surrounding him as well as absorbing knowledge from across the artistic spectrum. With the release of Universal Magnetic (1996) Mos became an underground favorite in the hip hop world, leading to his legendary collaboration with Talib Kweli. The two formed Black Star whose debut album, Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are…Black Star, would become one of the most critically acclaimed hip-hop albums. Mos followed that release with his 1999 solo debut, Black On Both Sides, which was certified gold and credited by critics as bringing hip-hop back to its soapbox roots. As with his music, Mos has demonstrated insight and passion with his acting career, appearing in Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, MTV’s Carmen: A Hip Hopera, 2002’s critically acclaimed Monster’s Ball, Showtime, and the 2002 romantic comedy Brown Sugar, for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination.

In addition Mos has served as the host, music supervisor and co-executive producer for the HBO series Def Poetry. Def also served as a writer, producer and actor on the MTV sketch comedy series Lyricist Lounge. Mos completed his Broadway debut in 2002 in the Tony nominated, Pulitzer Prize winning, Topdog/Underdog. Mos re-teamed with Topdog playwright Suzan Lori Parks and director George Wolfe for the off-Broadway play, Fucking A, for which he was awarded an Obie Award. In 2003, Mos Def starred in Paramount Pictures’ The Italian Job, alongside Ed Norton, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron. He starred opposite Alan Rickman in the critically acclaimed HBO movie Something the Lord Made, for which he has received a 2004 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie. Def was also nominated for both a Golden Globe Award (Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture), NAACP Award and Golden Satellite Award (Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television) for the same role. Def was also seen on the big screen in 2004 in the feature film The Woodsman, with Kevin Bacon, Benjamin Bratt, Eve and Kyra Sedgwick.

The New York Times said of his performance, “I hope we don’t have to wait too much longer to see him in a big-screen leading role,” and USA Today heralded him as “the movie’s best performance.” Also in 2004, Mos Def released his highly-anticipated and critically-acclaimed sophomore solo release, “The New Danger” (Geffen Records). The album was met with praise from both critics and fans alike, with Rolling Stone giving it 4 Stars and hailing the album as “Ghetto rock and righteous hip-hop from dazzlingly talented Def” and the New York Daily News proclaimed “No one is doing more to change our notion of how hip hop can sound.” The first single, “Sex, Love and Money’ earned Def a 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative/Urban Performance. Mos Def received rave reviews for his role as Ford Prefect in the film adaptation of the classic Douglas Adams science fiction novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. The film debuted at #1 at the Box Office when it hit theaters in April 2005.

Around the same time, Def embarked on his first national concert tour in four years. Entitled the Breed Love Odyssey Tour, the outing reunited him with Talib Kweli. Mos Def also starred with Bruce Willis as “Eddie Bunker” in 16 Blocks. The film was directed by Richard Donner and released in March 2006. He also made an appearance in Dave Chappelle’s 2006 release Block Party (Focus Features) and co-starred opposite Brendan Fraser in Journey to the End of the Night. Currently, Mos Def is working on an array of new film, book and television projects. He released a new studio album in 2007 titled true magic (Goodtree Media/Geffen Records). Mos Def is also working on the production of a book called Black, 2.0 by Mos Def.

The production, a heavily illustrated and innovatively designed compendium of significant moments and movements, artifacts and icons of the past 35 years of black culture, is slated to be published in Fall 2008 (The Doubleday Publishing Group, part of Random House, Inc). Def also returned to host the 6th season of the acclaimed HBO series Def Poetry. Lastly, Mos Def recently collaborated with Converse to design a line of sneakers. His signature sneakers features laser-etched pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline, and are available now in stores.

Filmography: 16 Blocks, Bamboozled, Be Kind Rewind, Dreamgirls, Journey to the End of the Night, Lackawanna Blues, Monsters Ball, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, The Italian Job, The Woodsman,

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