Mos Def Biography

The hip hop artist and actor known as Mos Def was born Dante Terrell Smith in 1973 in Brooklyn, New York. Mos Def began performing while in middle school, appearing in school plays and eventually picking up some small film roles; he appeared in the TV movie God Bless the Child when he was fourteen, and in 1990, he appeared on the short lived television series You Take the Kids.

By the early 1990’s, Mos Def had started his rap music career, launching his first rap groups before embarking on a solo career. In 1997, Mos Def released his first solo single, “Universal Magnetic,” garnering him some interest from Rawkus Records. His solo album, Black on Both Sides, arrived two years later and spawned the single “Ms. Fat Booty,” which rose into the top forty on the mainstream charts. Between 1999 and 2009, Mos Def released the additional albums: The New Danger (2004), True Magic (2006), and The Ecstatic (2009), featuring a number of successful R&B and rap singles.

At the same time he was enjoying a rising career as a musician, Mos Def also continued his acting career, appearing in key roles in such films as Monster’s Ball (2001), Brown Sugar (2002), The Italian Job (2003), The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Next Day Air (2009), and the television film Something the Lord Made (2004), for which he received both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. He also appeared in roles on the television shows House and Dexter.

Today, Mos Def is as well known for his social activism as he is for his music and acting roles. Mos Def is known for his critical stance against police brutality and for his support of organizations that seek to alleviate economic inequality and reduce crime in underprivileged communities. He appears frequently on such programs as Real Time with Bill Maher to discuss these issues that are important to him.

Although Mos Def announced his retirement from the entertainment industry in 2016, he then decided to release at least one more album. That album, Negus in Natural Person, is scheduled for release in 2017.