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Regarded as one of hip-hop’s
most introspective and insightful artists, Mos
Def has shaped a career that transcends music
genres and artistic medium. A child of hip-hop’s
Golden Era, the native Brooklynite spent his childhood
imbedded in the culture surrounding him as well
as absorbing knowledge from across the artistic
spectrum.
With the release of “Universal Magnetic”
(1996) Mos became an underground favorite, leading
to his legendary collaboration with Talib Kweli.
The two formed Black Star whose debut album, Mos
Def and Talib Kweli Are…Black Star, would
become one of the most critically acclaimed hip-hop
albums. Mos followed that release with his 1999
solo debut, Black On Both Sides, which was certified
gold and credited by critics as bringing hip-hop
back to its soapbox roots.
As with his music, Mos has demonstrated insight
and passion with his acting career, appearing
in Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, MTV’s Carmen:
A Hip Hopera, 2002’s critically acclaimed
Monster’s Ball, Showtime, and the 2002 romantic
comedy Brown Sugar, for which he received an NAACP
Image Award nomination. In addition Mos has served
as the host, music supervisor and co-executive
producer for the HBO series Def Poetry and served
as a writer, producer and actor on the MTV sketch
comedy series Lyricist Lounge. Mos completed his
Broadway debut in 2002 in the Tony nominated,
Pulitzer Prize winning, Topdog/Underdog. Mos re-teamed
with Topdog playwright, Suzan Lori Parks and director
George Wolfe for the off-Broadway play, Fucking
A, for which he was awarded an Obie Award.
In 2003, Mos Def starred in Paramount Pictures’
The Italian Job, alongside Ed Norton, Mark Wahlberg
and Charlize Theron. This year Mos Def starred
opposite Alan Rickman in the critically acclaimed
HBO movie Something the Lord Made, for which he
has received a 2004 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding
Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie. He will
next been seen on the big screen in the feature
films The Woodsman, with Kevin Bacon, Benjamin
Bratt, Eve and Kyra Sedgwick, and A Confederacy
of Dunces, starring Drew Barrymore, Olympia Dukakis,
Will Ferrell and Lily Tomlin. He additionally
has been tapped to star as "Ford Prefect"
in Spyglass Entertainment's The Hitchhiker's Guide
To The Galaxy, set for release in 2005. The film
is being directed by Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith
and currently is wrapping production. Mos Def
will release his highly-anticipated sophomore
solo release, The New Danger (Geffen Records),
on October 12th. |
