Mos Def

Dante Terrell Smith (born December 11, 1973)^[4] is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor known by the stage name Mos Def. Mos Def started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. He formed the duo Black Star with Talib Kweli and they released the well-received album Black Star in 1998. He was a major force in the late 1990s underground hip hop explosion spearheaded by Rawkus Records. As a solo artist he has released three albums Black on Both Sides (1999) The New Danger (2004), and True Magic (2006).^[4]

Mos Def
Def performing at the 2012 Ilosaarirock festival
Background information
Birth name	Dante Terrell Smith
Also known as	Yasiin Bey Black Dante Dante Beze Flaco El-Bey the Moor
Born	(1973-12-11) December 11, 1973 (age 51) New York City, U.S.
Genres	Alternative hip hop[1] conscious hip hop[2] progressive rap[3]
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer songwriter record producer actor activist
Instruments	Vocals keyboards bass guitar sampler drums
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Downtown GOOD Geffen Rawkus Priority
Member of	Black Star
Formerly of	Crooklyn Dodgers Dec 99th Soulquarians

Filmography

Year	Movie	Role	Notes
1991	The Hard Way	Dead Romeos Gang Member
1997	Ghosts	Townsperson
1998	Where's Marlowe?	Wilt Crawley
2000	Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme	Himself
	Bamboozled	Big Blak Afrika	Also recorded a song for the movie's soundtrack with other members of the Mau Maus
	Island of the Dead	Robbie J
2001	Carmen: A Hip Hopera	Lieutenant Miller
	Monster's Ball	Ryrus Cooper
2002	Showtime	Lazy Boy
	Civil Brand	Michael Meadows
	Brown Sugar	Chris Anton Vichon
	My Wife and Kids	Tommy	1 episode: Chair Man of the Board
2003	The Italian Job	Left Ear
2004	The Woodsman	Detective Lucas
	Something the Lord Made	Vivien Thomas	Nominated - Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated - Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television Nominated - Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Mini-Series or Television Movie
2005	Lackawanna Blues	The Bandleader
	The Boondocks (2005-2008)	Voice Of Gangstalicious
	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	Ford Prefect
2006	Dave Chappelle's Block Party	Himself
	16 Blocks	Eddie Bunker
	Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby	Himself	Cameo
	Journey to the End of the Night	Wemba
2007	Prince Among Slaves	Narrator
2008	Be Kind Rewind	Mike
	Cadillac Records	Chuck Berry
2009	Next Day Air	Eric
	House	Lee	Season 5, Episode 19, Locked In
2010	I'm Still Here	Himself
	Bouncing Cats	Himself
	Yo Gabba Gabba!	Super Mr. Superhero	Season 3, Episode 44, Superhero
2011	Dexter	Brother Sam	Season 6, recurring, (credited as "Mos" in 2 episodes, "yasiin bey" in 3 episodes)
2014	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Baxter Stockman
	Life of Crime	Ordell Robbie