Mos Def

I feel like being into the beat of your own drum has become too prominent in the culture.

I don't wanna get into that space where a lot of guys now, their solo album is like eight or 10 songs with other people, you don't get an idea of who this guy is. I just wasn't interested in that.

There are a lot of people who call themselves teachers or leaders, but they're really just propagandists.

I'm retiring the Mos Def name after 2011. I'm actually doing it.

But even creeps deserve to live someplace halfway decent.

I come from a family of very devout, praying people. That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn't be nationalistic or denominational. It should be a chief concern for all mankind.

You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions.

And remember don't high post when you're far from home, and high posting when you're all alone.

I didn't want to have to deal with having any moniker or separation between the self that I see and know myself as.

It wouldn't be fair to cast aspersions on an entire cultural movement based on the actions of a few. To quote my grandfather, 'One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch.'

Twitter freaks me out. You have followers? It feels so obsessive and proprietary.

I believe the projects were a social experiment; we were laboratory rats stacked on top of each other, and people just knew, inherently, that there was something wrong. There's not a lot of regard for the property by the residents.

I don't hate nobody. I hate certain conditions that are inflicted upon the people - and they're helpless with it.

African art is functional, it serves a purpose. It's not a dormant. It's not a means to collect the largest cheering section. It should be healing, a source a joy. Spreading positive vibrations.

I don't rap like nobody, I don't try to sound like nobody.

Bob Marley performed the 'One Love Peace' concert in Jamaica with the two different warring political sides. There's always been that in black music and culture in general. It's no surprise because black music is such a reflection of what's going on in black life. It's not unusual for hip-hop.

It's possible and available to any artist to be himself or herself on their own terms, to be accepted and embraced by black people. You don't have to be a thug to get love from black people.

Hip hop is a beautiful culture. Its inspirational because its a culture of survivors. You can create beauty out of nothingness.

I don't want to waste anyone's time or money. I want to give people some truth and positive heart lift.

I have no confidence issues with the impact or the quality of the music. No one in hip-hop, before this point and to this point, with all due respect, has done this.

I was taught when there's somethin' you can change around keep quiet, you got nothin' to complain about.

I guess something that you love to do, you gotta ease up off it and give it a little space, come back and be fresh to it.

That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn't be nationalistic or denominational. It should be a chief concern for all mankind.

Good art provides people with a vocabulary about things they can't articulate.

To me, the job of the artist is to provide a useful and intelligent vocabulary for the world to be able to articulate feelings they experience everyday, and otherwise wouldn't have the means to express in a meaningful and useful way.

My presence speaks volumes before I say a word.

Focused. I'm a hustler. And my hustle is trying to figure out the best ways to do what I like without having to do much else.

I'm a passionate person. I'm a lot of things, like most people are. Most people are dynamic. The focus is not on me though, I'm a screen. The aim is to always keep myself in the position where the screen is clear.

I get reminded a lot of the time that my life is a little bit different, but I'm just trying to keep it as regular as possible because I like it that way.

You want to know how to rhyme, then learn how to add. It's mathematics.

I'm growing as an individual, but your always growing. All of my albums are snapshots of where I am artistically.

I know what it feels like to have the door slammed firmly in my face, so I'm cool with that.

I don't mind being black. I'm black out loud. It's more than the people that they are, it's the condition that they represent.

Everything's got space between it, the planets, trees, your eyes. Your eyes get too close together, it's a whole different world. You can lose perspective.

Hip-hop is the last true folk art.

All the things that are worth doing, take time.

I can't control what people think. I'm not trying to manipulate people's thoughts or sentiments. I write all the time. You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions. It's machine-like how things are run now in hip-hop, and my ambitions are different.

I don't have advice for people on how to dress. People should dress based on what they find beautiful. My best advice: Keep your clothes clean.

You're not gonna get through life without being worshipful or devoted to something. You're either devoted to your job, or to your desires. So the best way to spend your life is to try to be devoted to prayer, to Allah.

That's what I've been trying to strive for - to draw a clear picture, to open up a new dimension.

I have mad brims.

Mos Def is a name that I built and cultivated over the years it's a name that the streets taught me a figure of speech that was given to me by the culture and by my environment and I feel I've done quite a bit with that name and it's time to expand and move on.

I'm an independent thinker. And I'm not the poster child for any movement. I'm trying to support whatever's right no matter where it is.

If Islam's sole interest is the welfare of mankind, then Islam is the strongest advocate of human rights anywhere on Earth.

I'm trying to get low. People's personalities can get in the way of their own work.

Reckless capitalism kills black people.

I'm not shy about heated debate or passionate discourse, but when people get crazy or rude, that's a buzz kill. There's got to be a better code of conduct, some basic etiquette.

I'm just an artist and I'm doin' what I like to do.

I feel like I was the only person who was capable of making this type of music in this type of way. I don't rap like nobody, I don't try to sound like nobody.

With guys I revere, like Marcus Garvey or Malcolm X, their look is less about style than purpose and the expression of beauty. It wasn't just about being noticed, you know?

I began to fear that Mos Def was being treated as a product, not a person, so I've been going by Yasiin since '99. At first it was just for friends and family, but now I'm declaring it openly.

I just don't think it's very dignified to ask people to like you. You can just wind up being somebody's ottoman.

I never had any ambitions of being a movie star or anything like that, but you know, this is nice.

What I take from writers I like is their economy - the ability to use language to very effective ends. The ability to have somebody read something and see it, or for somebody to paint an entire landscape of visual imagery with just sheets of words - that's magical.

Focused. Im a hustler. And my hustle is trying to figure out the best ways to do what I like without having to do much else.