- Graduation · 2007
- The College Dropout · 2004
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) · 2003
- Graduation · 2007
- Mind Control (Bonus Track Version) · 2007
- Black On Both Sides · 1999
- Black On Both Sides · 1999
- Black On Both Sides · 1999
- AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP · 2015
- Plastic Beach · 2010
- The New Danger · 2004
- Black On Both Sides · 1999
- Black On Both Sides · 1999
Essential Albums
- It was clear from 1998’s Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star that Mos Def had great potential. But it was Black on Both Sides—released the following year—that proved he was a once-in-a-generation talent. The title of his debut solo album is a bit of an undersell: After all, there are more than two sides to blackness, and Mos Def, who’d later take the name Yasiin Bey, disambiguates Black identity spherically and expansively, using a range of diasporic, emotional, and musical varieties for his mosaic. Black on Both Sides feels as premeditated and directional as any rap album ever; nearly every song has a specific theme, message, or topic. “Mr. N***a” illustrates racist discrimination through a series of vignettes; “Mathematics” cleverly uses a series of statistics to snipe through social issues; and “New World Water” dives into the politics and health risks of water scarcity. Even the more straightforward bar-fests feel intentional. “Hip Hop” pledges allegiance to the culture, with passionate lyrics over a triumphant beat from Diamond D, while “Do It Now” finds Mos rhyming in Spanish and enlisting Caribbean-flavored patois while matching the energy of guest-rapper Busta Rhymes. While his raps are always eloquent and pointed, Black on Both Sides also showcases the breadth of Mos Def’s talents. He sings “UMI Says” with tenderness and reverence as he pays homage to the wisdom from his elders, and resentfully murmurs over guitar licks on “Rock n Roll”—all the while assaulting white supremacy’s appropriation of Black art forms. He also lends co-production duties to several songs, teaming with former Nina Simone bandleader Weldon Irvine on the atmospheric Vinia Monica duet “Climb,” and with 88-Keys on the jazzy album-closing instrumental “May-December.” By standards that Yasiin would set in subsequent years, this is the most vibrant album of his catalog. On future records, he’d lean further into the rock ’n’ roll heritage he sees as Black birthright; experiment more with his vocals; and fully unsheath his wings with a smorgasbord of global sounds. But Black on Both Sides is as wonderful of a starting point as it gets.
Albums
Music Videos
Artist Playlists
- The early work of the artist now known as Yasiin Bey.
- Adventurous collaborations over icy electronic soundscapes.
- More MCs who helped bring conscious rap to the mainstream.
- His Native Tongues heroes and pioneering black rockers.
Singles & EPs
Appears On
More To Hear
- Bella wishes The Weeknd a happy birthday by curating her own mix.
- "Mathematics" is a Black History Month Beats 1 Banger.
- Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson and magician David Blaine
About Mos Def
Mos Def was one of the foremost faces of conscious hip-hop in the '90s and 2000s, and later became one of its most enigmatic figures. Dante Smith (1973) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where he studied Islam while developing a career as a child actor and honing his rap skills. After guest spots on songs by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul, he signed to Rawkus Records, where he formed Black Star with Talib Kweli. The duo released their debut in 1998, building a fanbase for their dedication to pro-Black values, sociopolitical awareness, and hip-hop traditionalism at a time when some feared rap had lost its way to glitzy materialism. The following year, he released his solo debut album, Black on Both Sides, a fittingly titled work that interrogated the joys and despair of the Black experience with stories of racism, love, and defiant reclamations of history. Both were crowned underground rap classics, and he and Kweli drove Rawkus to a reputation synonymous with thoughtful, authentic hip-hop. A decade later, while splitting time between film, TV, and Broadway, he began reinventing himself: He legally changed his name to Yasiin Bey, signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label, and, by 2019, experimented with atypical release strategies, including releasing a record titled Negus that was only available to hear as part of a live art installation. Fortunately, albums aren't Yasiin's only canvas. In early 2021, he paid tribute to late rapper MF DOOM with a video and performed a medley of songs at fashion house Louis Vuitton's Fall/Winter 2021 runway show in Paris. Yasiin is constantly creating, even if he isn't obediently coloring inside of the lines.
- HOMETOWN
- Brooklyn, NY, United States
- BORN
- December 11, 1973
- GENRE
- Hip-Hop/Rap