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To me, the job of the artist is to provide a useful and intelligent vocabulary for the world to be able to articulate feelings they experience everyday, and otherwise wouldn't have the means to express in a meaningful and useful way.

Mos Def

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Mos Def
Age: 50
Born: 1973
Born: December 11
Actor
Composer
Film Actor
Film Producer
Rapper
Record Producer
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Songwriter
Television Actor
Brooklyn
New York
Yasiin Bey
Dante Terrell Smith
Dante Beze
Black Dante
Mean
Intelligent
Articulate
Way
Wouldn
Vocabulary
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Means
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Provide
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Meaningful
Artist
Express
Feelings
Otherwise
Able
Everyday

More quotes by Mos Def

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Focused. I'm a hustler. And my hustle is trying to figure out the best ways to do what I like without having to do much else.
Mos Def
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I never had any ambitions of being a movie star or anything like that, but you know, this is nice.
Mos Def
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Why did one straw break the camel's back? Here's the secret: The million other straws underneath it.
Mos Def
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That's what I've been trying to strive for - to draw a clear picture, to open up a new dimension.
Mos Def
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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?
Mos Def
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I'd bet a million dollars on DOOM against Lil' Wayne
Mos Def
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Restlessness is my nemesis. It's hard to just chill and sit still.
Mos Def
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The moment you start thinking it's hopeless, then it is. [But], if you think it's gonna get better, it really does. Life is a test.
Mos Def
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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
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I don't rap like nobody, I don't try to sound like nobody.
Mos Def
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They say that when a man faces his destiny, the destiny ends and he becomes the man that he really is.
Mos Def
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Every time you ask yourself where hip-hop's going, ask yourself where you're going how are you doing?
Mos Def
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I think hip-hop is actually one of the most challenging things that's happened in music in a long time. The people who are in charge of what people see or hear are afraid. What you hear on top 40 or what you see on BET or MTV is not a fair representation of what is really going on...
Mos Def
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I seen her on the ave, spotted her more than once. Ass so fat that you could see it from the front.
Mos Def
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Fame is like getting across the street. It's like, if there's nothing to be across the street for, it's a pointless destination. It's like, I gotta get across the street, man! I gotta be there! I gotta be there! Then you get across the street and you're like, Yeah I'm here! And then, that's it. Fame doesn't make you particularly happy.
Mos Def
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I don't hate nobody. I hate certain conditions that are inflicted upon the people - and they're helpless with it.
Mos Def
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I have no confidence issues with the impact or the quality of the music. No one in hip-hop, before this point and to this point, with all due respect, has done this.
Mos Def
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And from the moment that I saw you, I knew you was trouble, But I disregarded detour signs, And did not stop til you was mine. I guess God was like, 'Aight, fine.' Careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it in heaps. Try to give it back, He be like, 'Nah, that's yours to keep.'
Mos Def
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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
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I'm a passionate person. I'm a lot of things, like most people are. Most people are dynamic. The focus is not on me though, I'm a screen. The aim is to always keep myself in the position where the screen is clear.
Mos Def