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Person · fka Mos Def

Yasiin Bey

4.3 / 5 from 13 ratings across 2 albums
Albums
35
Members
7
Active
1973–present
Origin
United States
Biography

Yasiin Bey (born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), best known by his stage name Mos Def, is an American hip hop recording artist, actor and activist from Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Best known for his music, Mos Def embarked on his hip hop career in 1994, alongside his siblings in the short-lived rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD), after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. He subsequently formed the duo Black Star, alongside fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli, and released their eponymous debut album in 1998. He was featured on the roster of Rawkus Records and in 1999 released his solo debut, Black on Both Sides.

His debut was followed by The New Danger (2004), True Magic (2006) and The Ecstatic (2009). The editors at About.com listed him as the 14th greatest emcee of all time on their "50 greatest MC's of our time" list.

The Groove
Groove by decade

The Groove is music.nw’s own measure of renown — not an opinion, a fact computed from the record. It weighs reach (how many people engaged) against acclaim (how highly they rated it), balanced so a handful of votes can’t outshout a lasting favourite.

Computed the NeuraWeb way, across the whole record. The same yardstick for everyone — which is why the little-known can out-Groove the famous in their own corner.

The trajectory

How Yasiin Bey moved

Genre belongs to the record, not to the artist. Every album’s Groove is shared out across the genres it actually is — by how the raters tagged it — so nobody is 100% one thing. Stack that by decade and a career draws itself.

Discography

Credits

Ranked #4,950 of 14,615 producers — 269.74 career Groove across 5 records.

Bandana
Writer · 2019
Fuck Yo Feelings
Writer · 2019
We Are the Halluci Nation
Writer · 2016
Album cover
Black Radio
Vocal · 2012
Album cover
Plastic Beach
Performer · 2010
Album cover
Revolutions per Minute
Writer · 2010
Album cover
Stylo
Vocal · 2010
Album cover
Fruit of the Past
Writer · 2009
Album cover
The Ecstatic
Producer · 2009
Album cover
Collected
Writer · 2006
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
Vocal · 2006
True Magic
Producer · 2006
Native Lands
Producer · 2005
Manifest Destiny
Performer · 2004
Album cover
The New Danger
Art Direction · 2004
Through the Wire
Writer · 2003
Wylin Out
Lyricist · 2002
7 Days
Writer · 2000
Hip Hop for Respect EP
Liner Notes · 2000
Rawkus & MIC Media Present Lyricist Lounge 2
Engineer · 2000
Anomie & Bonhomie
Vocal · 1999
Album cover
Black on Both Sides
Producer · 1999
Ms. Fat Booty / Mathematics
Writer · 1999
Album cover
Respiration
Writer · 1999
Tinseltown to the Boogiedown
Writer · 1999
Body Rock
Writer · 1998
Album cover
Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star
Lyricist · 1998
Album cover
The Love Movement
Writer · 1998
Album cover
Selektions
Writer · 1997
Album cover
MiLiGHT
Lyricist · 1996
A Brighter Day (Remix)
Writer · —
Brown Sugar
Writer · —
Collagically Speaking
Vocal · —
Crosstown Beef
Producer · —
Definition
Performer · —
Definition / Twice Inna Lifetime
Writer · —
Don't Stop
Writer · —
Guess You Didn't Love Me
Writer · —
I See b/w Best Part
Writer · —
Maybe
Writer · —
Ms. Fat Booty 2 / The Grimy Way
Writer · —
No Fear Of Time
Writer · —
Oh No / Battle
Writer · —
The Midnight Miracle Presents "The Grift That Keeps On Giving" & "LL's Check"
Producer · —
Umi Says
Producer · —
Workin' It Out
Writer · —
Wylin' Out (Kutmasta Kurt Remix)
Lyricist · —