Mos Def Quotes

With guys I revere, like Marcus Garvey or Malcolm X, their look is less about style than purpose and the expression of beauty. It wasn’t just about being noticed, you know?

To me, playing an instrument and singing, all of these different things are just as natural to me as rhyming.

Record companies are not necessarily interested in you realizing your artistic dream. The bottom line is that they got to sell records.

Reckless capitalism kills black people.

I’m an independent thinker. And I’m not the poster child for any movement. I’m trying to support whatever’s right no matter where it is.

I know what it feels like to have the door slammed firmly in my face, so I’m cool with that.

I don’t have advice for people on how to dress. People should dress based on what they find beautiful. My best advice: Keep your clothes clean.

I believe the projects were a social experiment; we were laboratory rats stacked on top of each other, and people just knew, inherently, that there was something wrong. There’s not a lot of regard for the property by the residents.

Hip-hop is the last true folk art.

But even creeps deserve to live someplace halfway decent.

Bob Marley performed the ‘One Love Peace’ concert in Jamaica with the two different warring political sides. There’s always been that in black music and culture in general. It’s no surprise because black music is such a reflection of what’s going on in black life. It’s not unusual for hip-hop.