Mos Def Quotes

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Mos Def

Profession : Musician

Birth : December 11, 1973

It's possible and available to any artist to be himself or herself on their own terms, to be accepted and embraced by black people. You don't have to be a thug to get love from black people.

Mos Def

I'm just an artist and I'm doin' what I like to do.

Mos Def

I just don't think it's very dignified to ask people to like you. You can just wind up being somebody's ottoman.

Mos Def

Reckless capitalism kills black people.

Mos Def

You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions.

Mos Def

I don't wanna get into that space where a lot of guys now, their solo album is like eight or 10 songs with other people, you don't get an idea of who this guy is. I just wasn't interested in that.

Mos Def

I guess something that you love to do, you gotta ease up off it and give it a little space, come back and be fresh to it.

Mos Def

I'm retiring the Mos Def name after 2011. I'm actually doing it.

Mos Def

I get reminded a lot of the time that my life is a little bit different, but I'm just trying to keep it as regular as possible because I like it that way.

Mos Def

Mos Def is a name that I built and cultivated over the years it's a name that the streets taught me a figure of speech that was given to me by the culture and by my environment and I feel I've done quite a bit with that name and it's time to expand and move on.

Mos Def

I didn't want to have to deal with having any moniker or separation between the self that I see and know myself as.

Mos Def

I never had any ambitions of being a movie star or anything like that, but you know, this is nice.

Mos Def

I'm trying to get low. People's personalities can get in the way of their own work.

Mos Def

Everything's got space between it, the planets, trees, your eyes. Your eyes get too close together, it's a whole different world. You can lose perspective.

Mos Def

I come from a family of very devout, praying people. That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn't be nationalistic or denominational. It should be a chief concern for all mankind.

Mos Def

Twitter freaks me out. You have followers? It feels so obsessive and proprietary.

Mos Def

I don't mind being black. I'm black out loud. It's more than the people that they are, it's the condition that they represent.

Mos Def

There are a lot of people who call themselves teachers or leaders, but they're really just propagandists.

Mos Def

I'm growing as an individual, but your always growing. All of my albums are snapshots of where I am artistically.

Mos Def

I can't control what people think. I'm not trying to manipulate people's thoughts or sentiments. I write all the time. You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions. It's machine-like how things are run now in hip-hop, and my ambitions are different.

Mos Def