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}} Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), better known by his former stage name Mos Def (), is an American hip hop recording artist, actor, comedian, 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 trio Black Star, alongside fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli, and Cincinnati producer Hi-Tek and released their eponymous debut album in 1998. He was a major force in late-1990s underground hip hop while under Rawkus Records. In 1999, Mos Def released his solo debut, ''Black on Both Sides'', under Rawkus and Priority Records. His debut was followed by ''The New Danger'' (2004), ''True Magic'' (2006) and ''The Ecstatic'' (2009). Prior to his career in music, Mos Def first entered public light as a child actor, having played roles in television movies, sitcoms, and theater, some of which were under the name Dante Beze. At the age of 14, he appeared in the TV movie ''God Bless the Child'', which aired on ABC in 1988. He played the oldest child in the 1990 family sitcom ''You Take the Kids'', shortly before it was cancelled. In 1995, he played the character "Dante" in ''The Cosby Mysteries''. Since the early 2000s, Mos Def is well known for his roles in films such as ''Something the Lord Made'', ''Next Day Air'', ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', ''16 Blocks'', ''Be Kind Rewind'', ''The Italian Job'', ''Bamboozled'' and ''Brown Sugar'', as well as for his portrayal of Brother Sam in the Showtime drama series ''Dexter''. He is also known as the host of ''Def Poetry Jam'', which aired on HBO between 2002 and 2007. Mos Def has been vocal on several social and political causes, including police brutality, the idea of American exceptionalism, and the state of black Americans. == Early life == He was born Dante Terrell Smith, in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Sheron Smith and Abdul Rahman. The eldest of 12 children and step-children, he was raised by his mother in Brooklyn, while his father lived in New Jersey. Although his father was initially a member of the Nation of Islam and later followed Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, who merged into mainstream Sunni Islam from the Nation, Mos Def was not exposed to Islam until the age of 13. At 19, he took his ''shahada'', the Muslim declaration of faith. He is close friends with fellow Muslim rappers Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Kamaal Ibn John Fareed (Q-Tip) of the rap group A Tribe Called Quest.〔 Mos Def attended middle school at Philippa Schuyler Middle School 383 in Bushwick, Brooklyn where he picked up his love for acting.〔 After returning from filming ''You Take the Kids'' in Los Angeles, and getting into a relationship with an older girl, Mos Def dropped out of high school during sophomore year.〔 Growing up in New York City during the crack epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s, he has spoken about witnessing widespread instances of gang violence, theft and poverty in society, which he largely avoided by working on plays, Off-Off-Broadway and arts programs.〔 In a particularly traumatic childhood experience, Mos Def witnessed his younger brother get hit by a car. The 5 year old Ilias Bey Born Denard Smith (DCQ), who Mos Def described as "my first partner in Hip Hop", was in a coma for 6 months.〔 He credits his brother, parents, grandparents and fellow New Yorkers for being an inspiration in his life and work. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mos Def」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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