Mos Def To Retire His Name, Will Become Yasiin (VIDEO)

Mos Def will soon be the rapper formerly known as Mos Def.

At this weekend's "Rock the Bells" concert in New York City, where the musician performed with Talib Kweli, Mos Def revealed that he's retiring his name by the end of 2011. The new name? Yasiin.

"I’m retiring the Mos Def name after 2011. I’m actually doing it," he told Sucker Free. "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."

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Comments

[toliva87]

07:01 PM on 09/14/2011

this is someone worthy of retiring his name....when puff daddy called a press conference to announce the change to diddy, well that was fricken hilarious

[jonesenterimail]

01:01 PM on 09/14/2011

Hopefully you changed your name, to promote a new movement in the hiphop industry.
Hiphop with soul; because hiphop is dead right now, with Jayz, lil wayne and co' as the grave diggers.
Pick up from where 2Pac left off. Let truth reign!

[bnww]

12:34 PM on 09/15/2011

And hip hop without the excessive and unnecessary use of the n-word would be wonderful!

http://Educate-Empower.com

[toliva87]

03:40 PM on 10/05/2011

forget the radio man, you need to dig into the underground, the underground scene is alive and well!!! it has never died... the music that is popular with the masses is mindless bullsh**

[cookt1156]

11:09 AM on 09/11/2011

Mos Def is a talented writer, performer, and SUBSTANTIVE as a rapper whose agenda is positive social change and his recordings reflect that..
There is only one reason anyone who's not a fan of his would waste their time to post negative comments regarding his personal decision....
See what I'm saying?
On September eleventh, no less.
How can we expect OTHERS not to hate us, if we can't stop hating one another?
This has to stop.

[kristydaily]

01:46 AM on 09/11/2011

He's a great man. I will continue to support him no matter what name he has.

[AudreyLee]

06:34 PM on 09/10/2011

He's one of my favorite rappers... "Mathematics"...Good song.

[Tazirai]

12:24 PM on 09/09/2011

Good deal Yasiin. I wish the world was like that. Over the years i've been known by many names too. Tazirai or taz is the one that respresents this stage of life. I think more people should experiment with regular name/life changes.

[SaveWillowpark]

11:50 AM on 09/09/2011

"If we can recognize that change and uncertainty are basic principles, we can greet the future and the transformation we are undergoing with the understanding that we do not know enough to be pessimistic."

-Hazel Henderson

Living Life Fully

[SaveWillowpark]

11:45 AM on 09/09/2011

Cool, I wish you well in your new journey. Most enlightened.

[NotBetterThanYou]

02:26 AM on 09/09/2011

Yasiim is mos def a better name than mos def.

[Jezebelle75]

04:37 AM on 09/09/2011

Right, because it's not culture unless it's YOUR culture.

[mszksg]

11:20 AM on 09/09/2011

If a man wants to be called Trout Fishing in America it is his business. He is a man, Sir. It took a load of energy to comment on something you don't care about. I wish you happiness and longevity in your marriage to your cousinwife.

[micoft]

02:18 PM on 09/08/2011

Yasiin means rich as in blessed? I like Mos but the change shows maturity as his music has matured.

[gradyp]

01:00 PM on 09/08/2011

From a marketing perspective, one walks away from a brand name when it becomes tainted or so stale it becomes lost in the noise of the marketplace. I suspect this person wishes to re-energize his business and try to appear a fresh new product among many. Will it work?

[littlepuffycloud]

06:01 PM on 09/08/2011

Worked for Puffy.

[Yamagatagirl]

11:34 AM on 09/09/2011

I don't think so. Mos Def has an excellent reputation. He has worked with Bruce Willis as well as many other Hollywood Stars. I suspect it is enlightenment. But I do find it interesting that you automatically thought the worst first. Be well.

[Chassis]

12:31 PM on 09/08/2011

Yasiin Deedy. Cool!

[Plissken]

12:20 PM on 09/08/2011

Couldnt disagree more. Mos Def is the best artist/rap name I have ever heard.

[GirlInNYC]

10:20 PM on 09/08/2011

And a credible actor too.

[MissMel10]

09:06 AM on 09/14/2011

I think that's the point though. I think he's trying to move beyond just being an artist/rapper and wants to explore life as more than that.

[shawshank]

10:03 AM on 09/08/2011

From Surah Yasiin - a chapter in the Qur'an.

And a sign for them is the dead earth. We have brought it to life and
brought forth from it grain, and from it they eat...
And We make therein gardens of palms and grapevines and We make
springs to flow forth in it,
That they may eat of the fruit thereof, and their hands did not make it; will
they not then be grateful?
And a sign for them is the night. We remove from it [the light of] day, so
they are [left] in darkness.
Neither is it allowable to the sun that it should overtake the moon, nor can
the night outstrip the day; and all float on in a sphere.