Why Yasiin Bey Changed His Name From Mos Def

If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard much from hip-hop artist Mos Def lately, it’s because the Brooklyn-born rapper-turned-actor changed his stage name more than two decades ago. It wasn’t the first time he swapped monikers, either. Here’s why the multi-talented Yasiin Bey changed his name.

Before he became Mos Def

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Born Dante Terrell Smith on Dec. 11, 1973, the artist started rapping before he turned 10. At age 14, Smith appeared in the award-winning TV movie God Bless the Child alongside Mare Winningham, Dorian Harewood, and Obba Babatundé.

In 1994, before changing his name as many rappers do, Smith signed a deal with PayDay Records and recorded tracks including “Manifest Destiny” and “My Kung Fu” with his sister and brother as UTD, or Urban Thermo Dynamics. Now revered as underground classics, neither track was released due to “label politics,” explains LastFM.

Unlike some of his peers who rap about misogyny and crime, Def releases inspiring rhymes that raise awareness while promoting love, peace, and understanding, explains YogaHarta.

Lauded as “hip-hop‘s most thoughtful DJ” by GQ, Mos Def rose to rap fame via collaborations with Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, and Nate Dogg. In 1999, he began going by the name Yasiin with his friends, most of whom understood the name as a nod to the Islamic faith he’d adopted as a teenager. In 2011, he ditched his rap name altogether.

“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.”

Alternately spelled Yasin, Def’s new first name refers to a chapter in the Islamic holy book, the Quran, explains Quranic Names.

Def or Bey, the man is most definitely a person, not a product

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One rainy night in New York in 2006, Mos Def arrived at the MTV Music Awards in a flatbed truck to present a protest message against how the government had treated Hurricane Katrina victims in the wake of the natural disaster that hammered New Orleans one year prior. Before he could finish rapping “Katrina Clap,” Bey was arrested, ostensibly for failing to obtain a permit.

In 2009, Def dropped his fourth album, The Ecstatic, featuring collaborations with The Neptunes, Mr. Flash, and Preservation. That same year, Def debuted a line of sports shoes for Converse and partnered with UNDRCRWN to promote his Mos Def Cut & Sew Collection.

Def signed with GOOD Music the following year, and in 2011, he legally changed his name to Yasiin Bey.

Credited as Smith, Bey, or Def, the Ms. Fat Booty rapper also boasts an impressive filmography, including notable performances in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Be Kind Rewind, Cadillac Records, and I’m Still Here. On the smaller screen, Bey can be seen in episodes of House, The Boondocks, and Dexter.

The prerogative to change his mind (and name)

Mos Def at Paris Fashion Week | Dominique Charriau/WireImage via Getty Images

Despite ditching the name Mos Def a year before, Yasiin Bey later announced that he and Talib Kweli were getting the band Black Star back together and that he’d be using his former rap name during the collaboration.

In 2013, Bey and his family traveled to South Africa for an extended visit. After overstaying their visitor’s permit, Bey was arrested in January 2016 and spent a year in the Cape Town jail, reported BlackPast.

The same month he was detained in South Africa, Bey announced his retirement from music and acting. Nonetheless, Bey has since released two albums, December 99th with Ferrari Sheppard in 2016 and a 2019 solo album, Negus.

Last summer, Bey was aboard to portray jazz master Thelonious Monk in an upcoming Jupiter Rising Film production but backed out hours after Monk’s heirs condemned the project, reported Rolling Stone.

Whether Bey releases another CD or appears in another movie remains to be seen. At this point, we’re more or less counting on it.

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Why Yasiin Bey Changed His Name From Mos Def

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Before he became Mos Def

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