Don't see his growth stunted. he went as far as a "underground backpacker" has ever been. Gold records, Movies????? Can't think of another more successful underground MC. Common maybe? But otherwise Mos is an OVERACHIEVER. His debut was on Da Bush Babees debut for chrissakes lol. You need to DEFINITELY do a stunted growth on them - I loved those dudes and they were CRIMINALLY slept on
He was one of my biggest inspirations when I first started making music. I don't listen to him much now-a-days, but "Respiration" was one of the first tracks I rapped over.
Mos Def, Jay Elec and MF DOOM (R.I.P.) are just a few of the m.c.'s that never cared about the mainstreams idea of what success means. They do/did it out of the pure love of the craft. Just to spit. To see a hype crowd. Just to rock the mic. They never had stunted growth, they just did what they wanted and didn't conform to what others think they should have or where they should be. Peace.
There’s a lot of weird Mos Def opinions on this platform. I thought by consensus he was a legend but he never had a lot of real output. We all let Andre 3000 slide because nothing is sacrificed as far as quality but it’s news to me.
@@madddoggnogood1491 Technically he did unofficially with Love below but how can you denounce someone as a goat cause he didn't have a solo album his verses and efforts as one half of outkast is what put him to such high regard and all his features are so rare yet Really sought after Andre 3000 feature is equivalent of rappers wanting a Nas or Jay feature just that he's harder to pull because he's more reserved
@@syonide1878 On the love below he barely rapped at all so no that doesn't count . Im not discounting anything. But its not fair to put him in that hall when he hasnt dropped a solo effort. But we dont know how a solo rap album from 3000 would be. We assume it would be good but we dont know. Outkast is considered by most the greatest duo in hip hop history. Hes a legend. But i stand by what i said. I feel the same way about biggie and pun being the goat discussion with a small body of work. Its not fair to put them over or in the discussion with people who have larger catalogues and longevity than they did. Who knows uf they would have kept it going or fell off had they not been taken from us And in the case of andre wnen he drops a solo album then i may change my mind but then ill need at least two more before i put hom over Jay-Z, Nas, eminem, pac , ll cool j, scarface, common, or others
Mos wanted to be free, his career went the way he wanted. He made some good money and still getting nice checks and the best part about it, he can say what he feels and don't have to apologize it, because he's not controlled. PEACE 7
Best freedom ever. Mos Def made it better than most rappers that got their growth stunted because he never intended to try to be the best and just wanted to a platform to push him ahead but he had immense skill on the mic and never exploited hip hop.
He didn't " fall off ", he decided to live his life and not lose his sanity to the game and over the years, all the bandwagon fans fell off and now he's left with all the real fans that fuck with him for who he is and not just because it's the trendy thing to do at the time. If he sells 10k to the real fans that fuck with him as a person, I feel it will mean more to him than selling 10M to the Hypebeasts culture vultures of society & the industry. Just my opinion tho 🤷♂️
The Ecstatic? I'm shook that "The Ecstatic" is not mentioned by name. The Ecstatic is a classic album and I love it almost as much as I love "Black on Both Sides," or "Black Star."
Thank youuuu! Idk wtf is going on here. The Ecstatic guided me through college! Twilite speedball, Auditorium, History, Priority, etc. True Magic had some cuts on it too (the Rapeover was hard) , and the New Danger is classic rap experimentation. Stunted growth? I think not. If anything, this dude is a Renaissance man. Yall will figure it out sooner or later.
Really enjoyed this video, just one thing: The word " Dope" is not this generation's term. I'm the same age as Mos and we've been saying "dope" since we were little kids
First time I heard Mos Def he was part of a group called UTD (Urban Thermo Dynamics). They had a track called "Manifest Destiny" prod. by Diamond D. Track was a banger. Still have the cassette single.
Man gotta say "Black on Both Sides" is still a part of my all time play list. That album is still so incredible. Classic for sure. I can see where he became disillusioned with the entire industry. I agree he was only going to do things on his terms, regardless if he was praised or not.
Should also be pointed out he was Drake before Drake. Mos Def is the very first Actor turned Rapper. Mos started on Bill Cosby's Mysteries (the show that Cosby did right after cosby show that got canceled after one season). And he did commercials (had a famous visa debit card commercial w/Deion Sanders). So he overrachieved in the sense he got as much respect as he did as an Actor turned Rapper.
@Brandon Knight wrong 2pac was on Digital Underground's Sex Packet album - TWO YEARS BEFORE Juice. He was making his 1st album literally at the same time he made juice lol. He was signed rapper BEFORE he got his 1st big acting break. So Most Beat him to the punch. Cosby Mysteries was before Mos appeared on Da Bush Babbees album
@@HUSTLER-AT-HEART my point was ACTOR turned Rapper. And actually Will wasn't even that. Hell ICE T did New Jack City and Breakin before Will even started rapping, let alone acting lol. Fat boys beat him too and run dmc. and everyone else in Krush Groove. But NONE of them were Actors BEFORE they started Rapping. Mos Def is the first I can think of. He may not be #1, but he is at least 2nd. 2pac didn't even beat him because his first rap song came out before Juice (I already knew Pac from Digital Underground before I even saw Juice).
He used to live around the corner from my baby moms! I used to see him all the time and never knew he rapped!! Go listen to the album Blackstar! He’s amazing!! One of the best coming out of Brooklyn!
Mos Def AKA Yasiin Bey is one of my Top 5, one of the greatest to hail from Brooklyn and the greatest to ever do it. I would never consider him to have stunted growth.
I'm just happy he have the power for his self you know stand up for yourself don't let people run you and mos def is a legend to me I'll still play his first album like it just dropped it's a classic to me
You're so on point with this one ... I just saw your video on Papoose & said he, in my opinion, was going to pick up where Mos Def & Talib Kweli left off. He definitely moves to the beat of his own drum. Mos is one artist that I wanted to see grow but respect his vision for his life. Peace ❤🖤💚💛
Yasiin Bey is one of the greatest rappers to ever touch a mic. He is in my top 5 without a doubt. One day I would love to see him collaborate/work with Andre 3000. I feel they are very similar.
In terms of rap intellectual, no song comes close to "Mathematics". From the the snippets of Black Star 2, the album sound promising. Yasiin Bey is my favourite hands down. Just like Lauryn Hill they disheartened with music business.
To be fair, I believe Mos was always an actor that happens to be very great at Rap, I do recall him being in the Cosby Mysteries originally in 94-95, I’d say he’s a unique universal performance artist and who enjoys his freedom. And no one can knock that.
I don't think someone can be stunted, if they're content with their own careers. Mos Def has put out 2 classic albums(BlackStar and Black on Both Sides) to hip hop purists, and is still beloved. His last 2 albums were actually pretty good, but people's opinions are just that, THEIR OPINIONS! I don't see how any artist can be considered stunted if they had 2 classic albums and an Emmy award under their name, not to mention you put the Mighty Mos in a cypher with any crew and he will not only hold his own but shine. He was never going to be Jay Z or BIG, but he damn sure could go bar for bar with them. This man had a successful career, everyone doesn't want mainstream success though.
Most definitely not think so ! One of the greatest mc's ever . Yall ever heard the Rape over? Tell me if that record is relevant to the times we currently live in!
Most people didn't know, but I sure as hell did. Been saying it was my favorite decade while y'all was spewing that 90's talk (which was the better decade).
@@bradlee5874 I’m guilty as hell of that. I was so caught up pining for the 90’s, I couldn’t see the all of the dope shit going on around me. That was a LOT of us back in the dorms.
@@DoctorOfLawOrSomething the 2010's is a decade I could really care less about lol. Sure, a few _cool_ things happened, but that's NOTHING compared to the 2000's, let alone 1990's.
@@bradlee5874 Exactly. If anything, the 2010’s is when I opened myself up to different genres outside of hip hop. Matter of fact, I can tell you the exact song that did it. “Lifestyle” with Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. I remember that song coming on the radio one day on my way to work, me REALLY listening to it, and saying “hmmm…. I wonder what else is out there.” Never looked back.
My man you read my mind. I was in high school when Black star & Black on Both Sides came out...and for years I've been telling people that Mos Def debut is one of the most slept on in the late 90s. But after 2 bullshit solo albums after the debut I consider him & Lauryn Hill two of the same. They pump fake us with a classic album. Keep up the great work with this series
I feel like Andre 3000 and Yasin Bey had similar paths within their career. Known for being great MC’s, movied into acting then left the mainstream. Both considered some of greatest rappers of all time
I like to think he blew up in his own way, released like a handful of albums plus a joint collab with Kweli and got into acting. Italian job and be kind rewind are classics btw dope films. He did his thing.
His growth wasn't stunted. He was in the wrong era. I see direct influences of his music on J Cole (who has thrived in the 2010's) and modern underground hiphop. His so-called failures were in the 50 Cent era. He wasn't that type of rapper. He wasn't mainstream. Songs like "Auditorium" or "There is a way" or "Travelling Man" are for a specific type of rap fan. Yasiin is a King in hip hop.
@@rolondorivas6562 He was in the era of Gangsta rap. In that era, if you didnt rap about the streets, hoes and guns, you were not a mainstream rapper. A rebellious indie rapper could not survive that era. Neither Jcole nor Kendrick would have survived the gangsta rap era. That era ended in 2007 when Kanye defeated 50 Cent in the famous album battle of Graduation vs Curtis.
@Terence Johunkin Listen to singing Mos and singing Cole and you will see what I mean. There are many similarities in the rapping too (boom bap Cole). I know Cole is a big Nas fan but their styles are quite different and Nas was more street. This is similar to how people identify the Pac influence in Kendrick and ignore the heavier Andre 3000 influence.
@Terence Johunkin Also about their ability to survive pre-2007, specifically for Cole, you need to look up the rap group Little Brother, for example. Specifically, listen to their Album "The Minstrel Show" released in 2005. To a core Hip Hop head, that album was possibly a top 2 album in 2005. That's an album that you could put in the same category as To Pimp a butterfly, in terms of message, concept and lyricism and would comfortably sit among any of Cole's best works in the 2010's. However, that was the age of gangsta rap and crunk so Little Brother were relegated to the underground where they have been ever since. Phonte of Little Brother is cited as one of Drakes biggest early influences and you could draw many comparisons in their flows in the late 00's. Guess, however where Drake would be now if he stuck to rapping like Phonte and didnt go pop or start rapping about "catching a body".
One of the best stunted growths I love how you put it in the perspective at the end as far as expectations in rap because in life and as a black man and one that goes against the system and doesn't want to conform or let the industry take control of is creative mind he was a huge success and totally overachieved especially knowing that he was an underground MC and not in the mainstream he put himself in the mainstream whether with movies or music won awards only thing I feel like how he said about expectations that his run just could have been longer but it wasn't that his music wasn't good or his lyrics werent fucking excellent it was just that he didn't want to conform and do things the way that you know the industry wanted
You didnt even mention The Ecstatic released in 2009, that Album did good commercially and got very positive reviews with Critics praising it as good as Black On Both Sides and Black Star
If you look at his and Andre 3000 Career is basically a mirror, Both have superior rap skills and we wanted to Hear more of their music. They both became movie stars and then decided they wanted nothing to do with the entertainment industry. Everybody is not built for this, the evil that they experience in the industry. So I think these 2 brothers walked away to save their mental health
Mos was serious on the mic one of my all time mc’s, who remembers that umi says song on the Jordan commercial? I still bump that at the gym. When I think about yasin I think about the first J cole he got uninterested in the more worldly things his career had to offer.
If you think his growth was stunted then you're blind! He's one of the most respected rappers on the planet! ......and without really going mainstream. You gotta apprecaite that
This. More power to that man in whatever he's doing. If he blesses us with a project, cool. If not, oh well. He represents us by being himself, free. A standard we should all strive for. That's powerful.
EASILY one of the most well rounded artists EVER. Acting, Comedy, Activist, Rapper, This dude has done it all. BESIDES all that, the kid has some of the best fashion tast out of anyone Ive ever met/know. MosDef is the GOAT on so many levels.
I love Mos Def and give him all praise for guiding his own destiny. I consider most of his albums to be masterpieces. Better to have a smaller catalogue of classics than churn out bs every 1-2 years IMO.
His passion seemed to be more with acting and movies instead of music. Or maybe he like me the money more from movies. Regardless of what we think he could’ve been or how much he loves rap. The actions always show better and his actions showed acting was more the passion.
Movies pay more money than the music industry. Can’t blame him. If his growth was stunted off that then will smith, ice cube, Queen latifah, ice t & LL deserve this too
One of the be rappers during the late 90's early 2000's but when the Hollywood bug bit him it was a wrap and since then he didn't give a damn about music like that anymore
I can't call his growth stunted, though. As an entertainer, he checks every box. Success in every venue he entered. And, you did see that performance on SNL, right? Even though his alsbums didn't appeal to the "mainstream" or even some of the hip-hop heads, they are all versatile, eclectic and show a willingness to take risks and try new things. For some people, this is gateway music. It leads people to say, "That was dope. If I liked that, I might just like this...". It opens up a whole new world of sounds for someone new to music or just bored with the same old things. Sometimes, that's what creates new artists.
3 reasons. I will tell you he is a progressive black brother who advocated positivity to all and has called out many ppls. He is a Muslim so that's another Target on his back. He don't sell out a true artist. His message is true but hard to fathom because we don't want to look at our selves as the Problem. Materialistic world. Badlands........ Yasin bey the man the Leg end we say in ENgland
Mos is one of my favorite artist of all time. He had a different path that didn't align with being a mainstream superstar but he's a star nevertheless.
I think you got it backwards. He's transcended music. He's not trapped by a label or a record deal. Who doesn't want to be free to pursue their heart's desire? One of my all time favorites. Def spit bars. No genre, no gimmick, just himself
Was Mos Def Ever Held As One Of New York's Great Rappers? Where'd His Career Go Wrong?
Yo thanks for posting this
Brooklyn Mount Rushmore
1 biggie
2 jay z
3 fabulous
4 pop smoke
Hell no!!!!!!!!!
Gangsta licious ain’t gay
I'd say after 2001, he focused more on Hollywood than rap.
He is still one of Brooklyn’s greatest of all time in my book
Facts
Faxxxx
Hell no!!!!!
No just not. Brooklyn has the best rappers ever. He's a dope MC but definitely not one of the top.
Faaacts
Mos Def was already an established actor BEFORE he dropped his 1st album. He was acting in plays and commercials
Don't see his growth stunted. he went as far as a "underground backpacker" has ever been. Gold records, Movies????? Can't think of another more successful underground MC. Common maybe? But otherwise Mos is an OVERACHIEVER. His debut was on Da Bush Babees debut for chrissakes lol. You need to DEFINITELY do a stunted growth on them - I loved those dudes and they were CRIMINALLY slept on
Bro this nigga be reaching he was never mainstream and if he was man feel bad for a lot of these other mcs
Bro this nigga be reaching he was never mainstream and if he was man feel bad for a lot of these other mcs
FACTS!
Slug
Evidence
Brother Ali
I was just about to comment that his growth was not stunted. Your comment saved me time. Lol thank you.
He was one of my biggest inspirations when I first started making music. I don't listen to him much now-a-days, but "Respiration" was one of the first tracks I rapped over.
Yo.. I’d like to hear that. I love that beat.
@@Helmuesi911 I’ll try to find it! It’s buried, I buried a lot once I started taking music seriously.
@@spendmoneykwam
Holla if you find it dude.. salute from Detroit
Mos is in a class all by himself period. he can't be judged. it don't matter if you holla or whisper
Sunshine.
🔥🔥
I don’t think his growth was stunted…the dude is a legend & im all the way from Guyana knowing that. Despite he never been mainstream
I know that’s the same thing I said his growth was not stunted cause he did his thing in music and acting and became a legend.
Exactly this video is reaching lol just like a few others I've seen
I think he calls a lot of rappers stunted growth, just coz thats what the show is called and majority of them are not stunted.
Completely agree.
Enjoy his music. He is incredibly talented. Sounds like he’s a free spirit. I can dig that lifestyle.
You calling him Mos Def is like you calling Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay
He never fell off or had stunted growth.. forever a hip-hop legend.
Mos Def, Jay Elec and MF DOOM (R.I.P.) are just a few of the m.c.'s that never cared about the mainstreams idea of what success means. They do/did it out of the pure love of the craft. Just to spit. To see a hype crowd. Just to rock the mic. They never had stunted growth, they just did what they wanted and didn't conform to what others think they should have or where they should be. Peace.
Easy for MF Doom as his attempt at being mainstream didn't pan out in the early 1990's.
FACTS
@@shauncameron8390 Doom will always be Zev Love X to me and he wasn't trying to be mainstream in the 90s.
His intelligent lyrics stunted his growth, we live in an era in which knowledge and lyricism are not cared for.
FACTS!!!
No doubt
That’s accurate.
Cat n the hat rhymes
@@qubanwaro3199 nah, you just cant read and arent smart enough to decipher
There’s a lot of weird Mos Def opinions on this platform. I thought by consensus he was a legend but he never had a lot of real output.
We all let Andre 3000 slide because nothing is sacrificed as far as quality but it’s news to me.
Turn this comment UP!
I dont let 3000 slide.
Til he puts out a solo album cant call him the goat
@Brandon Knight
No he can do whatever he wants.
I just personally wont put him in that goat discussion til he does
@@madddoggnogood1491 Technically he did unofficially with Love below but how can you denounce someone as a goat cause he didn't have a solo album his verses and efforts as one half of outkast is what put him to such high regard and all his features are so rare yet Really sought after Andre 3000 feature is equivalent of rappers wanting a Nas or Jay feature just that he's harder to pull because he's more reserved
@@syonide1878
On the love below he barely rapped at all so no that doesn't count .
Im not discounting anything. But its not fair to put him in that hall when he hasnt dropped a solo effort.
But we dont know how a solo rap album from 3000 would be. We assume it would be good but we dont know.
Outkast is considered by most the greatest duo in hip hop history. Hes a legend.
But i stand by what i said.
I feel the same way about biggie and pun being the goat discussion with a small body of work.
Its not fair to put them over or in the discussion with people who have larger catalogues and longevity than they did.
Who knows uf they would have kept it going or fell off had they not been taken from us
And in the case of andre wnen he drops a solo album then i may change my mind but then ill need at least two more before i put hom over
Jay-Z, Nas, eminem, pac , ll cool j, scarface, common, or others
Mos wanted to be free, his career went the way he wanted. He made some good money and still getting nice checks and the best part about it, he can say what he feels and don't have to apologize it, because he's not controlled. PEACE 7
Best freedom ever. Mos Def made it better than most rappers that got their growth stunted because he never intended to try to be the best and just wanted to a platform to push him ahead but he had immense skill on the mic and never exploited hip hop.
I think Mos Def is the full package 📦 the voice, the look, the lyrics and ideas
Actor too lol another on the list
He didn't " fall off ", he decided to live his life and not lose his sanity to the game and over the years, all the bandwagon fans fell off and now he's left with all the real fans that fuck with him for who he is and not just because it's the trendy thing to do at the time.
If he sells 10k to the real fans that fuck with him as a person, I feel it will mean more to him than selling 10M to the Hypebeasts culture vultures of society & the industry.
Just my opinion tho 🤷♂️
And your opinion is loved.
No lie in that one ☝️ 💯
Your opinion is definitely loved by me
Agreed!
The Ecstatic? I'm shook that "The Ecstatic" is not mentioned by name. The Ecstatic is a classic album and I love it almost as much as I love "Black on Both Sides," or "Black Star."
Thank youuuu! Idk wtf is going on here. The Ecstatic guided me through college! Twilite speedball, Auditorium, History, Priority, etc. True Magic had some cuts on it too (the Rapeover was hard) , and the New Danger is classic rap experimentation. Stunted growth? I think not. If anything, this dude is a Renaissance man. Yall will figure it out sooner or later.
That whole auditorium track makes me go stupid, that song is so criminally underrated, and both Mos and Slick killed tf out their verses
Really enjoyed this video, just one thing: The word " Dope" is not this generation's term. I'm the same age as Mos and we've been saying "dope" since we were little kids
@Terence Johunkin 39 over here and safe. Seen dope morphed in my time but it’s has always been around.
I'm 49 and dope didn't exist before like 8th grade. I'd say 1986 ish.
Truly underrated Yasiin Bey is not for the mainstream anyway he is a true artist and one of the best to ever grace a mic💯👊🏾🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Whenever ppl talk about the best MCs I always bring up Black Star as two of the best pure lyrical geniuses ever
The “Travelin Man” himself 🖤 he a legend in my eyes.
First time I heard Mos Def he was part of a group called UTD (Urban Thermo Dynamics). They had a track called "Manifest Destiny" prod. by Diamond D. Track was a banger. Still have the cassette single.
I found the UTD album through 2DopeBoyz back in the day, but *STILL* haven't taken/made time to listen to it 🤦🏽♂️
My kung fu was a nice joint too
And then universal magnetic
I remember an OLD interview… & i think it said that Mos never even wanted to be a rapper. He wanted to be an actor 1st. Rapping just happened for him.
I hear the same interview. That was around the time he was special guest star on Dexter.
The Ecstatic is a classic to me as well as Black on Both Sides
He was Childish Gambino before childish Gambino a high level talent on all fronts
No
Naw nor even close
“Ecstatic” is one of my favorite albums. He is still one of my favorite artists.
New York has so many skillful mcs
He IS the GOAT to those who know
Facts. Jay Z can’t hold his hat and that is no knock on Jay.
Mos Def is one of the best MCs in my opinion. Black On Both Sides is a classic💯💯💯
Also True Magic is my second favorite Mos Def album
Tru3 Magic is one of the greatest albums in MUSIC'S history. Fuck Hip Hop.
Man gotta say "Black on Both Sides" is still a part of my all time play list. That album is still so incredible. Classic for sure. I can see where he became disillusioned with the entire industry. I agree he was only going to do things on his terms, regardless if he was praised or not.
Should also be pointed out he was Drake before Drake. Mos Def is the very first Actor turned Rapper. Mos started on Bill Cosby's Mysteries (the show that Cosby did right after cosby show that got canceled after one season). And he did commercials (had a famous visa debit card commercial w/Deion Sanders). So he overrachieved in the sense he got as much respect as he did as an Actor turned Rapper.
He was the first rapper turned actor however he is indeed talented
@Brandon Knight wrong 2pac was on Digital Underground's Sex Packet album - TWO YEARS BEFORE Juice. He was making his 1st album literally at the same time he made juice lol. He was signed rapper BEFORE he got his 1st big acting break. So Most Beat him to the punch. Cosby Mysteries was before Mos appeared on Da Bush Babbees album
Will smith is actually the first rapper turned actor
@@HUSTLER-AT-HEART my point was ACTOR turned Rapper. And actually Will wasn't even that. Hell ICE T did New Jack City and Breakin before Will even started rapping, let alone acting lol. Fat boys beat him too and run dmc. and everyone else in Krush Groove. But NONE of them were Actors BEFORE they started Rapping. Mos Def is the first I can think of. He may not be #1, but he is at least 2nd. 2pac didn't even beat him because his first rap song came out before Juice (I already knew Pac from Digital Underground before I even saw Juice).
@@JimBrownski oh ok I see what you saying my bad
He used to live around the corner from my baby moms! I used to see him all the time and never knew he rapped!! Go listen to the album Blackstar! He’s amazing!! One of the best coming out of Brooklyn!
The New Danger is one my favorite albums of all time!! 💪🏿 ✊🏿 💯
Mos Def AKA Yasiin Bey is one of my Top 5, one of the greatest to hail from Brooklyn and the greatest to ever do it. I would never consider him to have stunted growth.
One of the illest and most thought provoking MCs to ever walk the earth.
I'm just happy he have the power for his self you know stand up for yourself don't let people run you and mos def is a legend to me I'll still play his first album like it just dropped it's a classic to me
You're so on point with this one ... I just saw your video on Papoose & said he, in my opinion, was going to pick up where Mos Def & Talib Kweli left off. He definitely moves to the beat of his own drum. Mos is one artist that I wanted to see grow but respect his vision for his life. Peace ❤🖤💚💛
The New Danger and The Ecstatic are two dope ass albums. Especially The New Danger, that album really doesn't get the respect it deserves.
Shit. Mos Def still nice and that’s on my mama!! Top 5 underrated emcees!
His growth was never stunted.
Yasiin Bey is one of the greatest rappers to ever touch a mic. He is in my top 5 without a doubt.
One day I would love to see him collaborate/work with Andre 3000. I feel they are very similar.
In terms of rap intellectual, no song comes close to "Mathematics". From the the snippets of Black Star 2, the album sound promising. Yasiin Bey is my favourite hands down. Just like Lauryn Hill they disheartened with music business.
To be fair, I believe Mos was always an actor that happens to be very great at Rap, I do recall him being in the Cosby Mysteries originally in 94-95, I’d say he’s a unique universal performance artist and who enjoys his freedom. And no one can knock that.
I don't think someone can be stunted, if they're content with their own careers. Mos Def has put out 2 classic albums(BlackStar and Black on Both Sides) to hip hop purists, and is still beloved. His last 2 albums were actually pretty good, but people's opinions are just that, THEIR OPINIONS! I don't see how any artist can be considered stunted if they had 2 classic albums and an Emmy award under their name, not to mention you put the Mighty Mos in a cypher with any crew and he will not only hold his own but shine. He was never going to be Jay Z or BIG, but he damn sure could go bar for bar with them. This man had a successful career, everyone doesn't want mainstream success though.
He evolved more than just a rapper my opinion
Most definitely not think so ! One of the greatest mc's ever . Yall ever heard the Rape over? Tell me if that record is relevant to the times we currently live in!
I swear we didn’t know how good we had it in the early 00s.
Most people didn't know, but I sure as hell did. Been saying it was my favorite decade while y'all was spewing that 90's talk (which was the better decade).
@@bradlee5874 I’m guilty as hell of that. I was so caught up pining for the 90’s, I couldn’t see the all of the dope shit going on around me. That was a LOT of us back in the dorms.
@@DoctorOfLawOrSomething the 2010's is a decade I could really care less about lol. Sure, a few _cool_ things happened, but that's NOTHING compared to the 2000's, let alone 1990's.
@@bradlee5874 Exactly. If anything, the 2010’s is when I opened myself up to different genres outside of hip hop. Matter of fact, I can tell you the exact song that did it. “Lifestyle” with Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. I remember that song coming on the radio one day on my way to work, me REALLY listening to it, and saying “hmmm…. I wonder what else is out there.”
Never looked back.
Yo between you and FlemLo black TH-cam is super lit and even more inspirational 🙏
Mos def most underrated ever hella smooth has bars nice clean flow wtf😕
My man you read my mind. I was in high school when Black star & Black on Both Sides came out...and for years I've been telling people that Mos Def debut is one of the most slept on in the late 90s.
But after 2 bullshit solo albums after the debut I consider him & Lauryn Hill two of the same. They pump fake us with a classic album.
Keep up the great work with this series
Yasiin Bey. Besides Black on Both Sides, The Ecstatic is also a classic. Should have won the Grammy in 2010. I wish I had access to listen to Negus
It was like poetry rap listening to mos def
I feel like Andre 3000 and Yasin Bey had similar paths within their career. Known for being great MC’s, movied into acting then left the mainstream. Both considered some of greatest rappers of all time
I definitely needed this one, always wondered why he never blew up
The reason for the 5 year hiatus was due to his issues with his label, not acting. Because he still did guest appearances.
I like to think he blew up in his own way, released like a handful of albums plus a joint collab with Kweli and got into acting. Italian job and be kind rewind are classics btw dope films. He did his thing.
His growth wasn't stunted. He was in the wrong era. I see direct influences of his music on J Cole (who has thrived in the 2010's) and modern underground hiphop. His so-called failures were in the 50 Cent era. He wasn't that type of rapper. He wasn't mainstream. Songs like "Auditorium" or "There is a way" or "Travelling Man" are for a specific type of rap fan. Yasiin is a King in hip hop.
He became Muslim later
Why do you say he was in the wrong Era? Look at his Peers & Their Content. Similar Substance from Like minded MC’s with Substantial Material.
@@rolondorivas6562 He was in the era of Gangsta rap. In that era, if you didnt rap about the streets, hoes and guns, you were not a mainstream rapper. A rebellious indie rapper could not survive that era. Neither Jcole nor Kendrick would have survived the gangsta rap era. That era ended in 2007 when Kanye defeated 50 Cent in the famous album battle of Graduation vs Curtis.
@Terence Johunkin Listen to singing Mos and singing Cole and you will see what I mean. There are many similarities in the rapping too (boom bap Cole). I know Cole is a big Nas fan but their styles are quite different and Nas was more street. This is similar to how people identify the Pac influence in Kendrick and ignore the heavier Andre 3000 influence.
@Terence Johunkin Also about their ability to survive pre-2007, specifically for Cole, you need to look up the rap group Little Brother, for example. Specifically, listen to their Album "The Minstrel Show" released in 2005. To a core Hip Hop head, that album was possibly a top 2 album in 2005. That's an album that you could put in the same category as To Pimp a butterfly, in terms of message, concept and lyricism and would comfortably sit among any of Cole's best works in the 2010's. However, that was the age of gangsta rap and crunk so Little Brother were relegated to the underground where they have been ever since. Phonte of Little Brother is cited as one of Drakes biggest early influences and you could draw many comparisons in their flows in the late 00's. Guess, however where Drake would be now if he stuck to rapping like Phonte and didnt go pop or start rapping about "catching a body".
One of the best stunted growths I love how you put it in the perspective at the end as far as expectations in rap because in life and as a black man and one that goes against the system and doesn't want to conform or let the industry take control of is creative mind he was a huge success and totally overachieved especially knowing that he was an underground MC and not in the mainstream he put himself in the mainstream whether with movies or music won awards only thing I feel like how he said about expectations that his run just could have been longer but it wasn't that his music wasn't good or his lyrics werent fucking excellent it was just that he didn't want to conform and do things the way that you know the industry wanted
Need a Jody Breeze Stunted Growth video
You didnt even mention The Ecstatic released in 2009, that Album did good commercially and got very positive reviews with Critics praising it as good as Black On Both Sides and Black Star
Dr dre is the one that said “fuck rap you can have it back”
Didn't Jay-Z write it? 😂
He can do whatever he want I’m here for it
Yasiin was a child actor. He did theatre as a child and was even one of the kids in the Cosby mystery series in the early 1990s.....
If you look at his and Andre 3000 Career is basically a mirror, Both have superior rap skills and we wanted to Hear more of their music. They both became movie stars and then decided they wanted nothing to do with the entertainment industry. Everybody is not built for this, the evil that they experience in the industry. So I think these 2 brothers walked away to save their mental health
Facts
Love this brother music
Mos was serious on the mic one of my all time mc’s, who remembers that umi says song on the Jordan commercial? I still bump that at the gym. When I think about yasin I think about the first J cole he got uninterested in the more worldly things his career had to offer.
Love that song & ms fat booty...never k ew it was on commercial
Oh a song with kayne dont look down is incredible
@@mswhite1004 yeah here it is th-cam.com/video/XYSTrPWH4Ao/w-d-xo.html
If you think his growth was stunted then you're blind!
He's one of the most respected rappers on the planet!
......and without really going mainstream. You gotta apprecaite that
He is one of the most least accessible lyricists in the game and he’s always talked about as one of the best.
He always has my respect. He's an MC , but he's a well read person who navigated life as HE saw fit . That will make people not like you .
MOS is still on top in my book.
One of my Favs!..
Do eightball n mjg,devin the dude or ugk
@Terence Johunkin I think 8ball and Mjg are too and OutKast also.
mos def is a genius in every sense of the word, beyond understanding. yu gotta feel him
I ain’t even mad at mos … but he’s literally always been FOR US .. NO MATTER WHAT…
This. More power to that man in whatever he's doing. If he blesses us with a project, cool. If not, oh well. He represents us by being himself, free. A standard we should all strive for. That's powerful.
IMO Yasiin Bey has all the recognition he deserves from the dedicated people that have followed his career for the last 25 years.
Mos Def is one of the greatest artists alive. Period. And I’m from the South🤷🏾♂️
Mos Def is like a male version of Lauryn Hill with more output. He should've been more popular.
He’s the G.O.A.T...... great lyrically
EASILY one of the most well rounded artists EVER. Acting, Comedy, Activist, Rapper, This dude has done it all. BESIDES all that, the kid has some of the best fashion tast out of anyone Ive ever met/know. MosDef is the GOAT on so many levels.
I love Mos Def and give him all praise for guiding his own destiny. I consider most of his albums to be masterpieces. Better to have a smaller catalogue of classics than churn out bs every 1-2 years IMO.
I would absolutely go crazy if I ever got to meet pet Mighty Mos Def! He was a legend to me soon as I heard the BlackStar album.
His passion seemed to be more with acting and movies instead of music. Or maybe he like me the money more from movies. Regardless of what we think he could’ve been or how much he loves rap. The actions always show better and his actions showed acting was more the passion.
I love Mos Def!! I love him so much!! This is who I am, I am Mos Def!!
Movies pay more money than the music industry. Can’t blame him. If his growth was stunted off that then will smith, ice cube, Queen latifah, ice t & LL deserve this too
One of the be rappers during the late 90's early 2000's but when the Hollywood bug bit him it was a wrap and since then he didn't give a damn about music like that anymore
def a legend
I can't call his growth stunted, though. As an entertainer, he checks every box. Success in every venue he entered. And, you did see that performance on SNL, right? Even though his alsbums didn't appeal to the "mainstream" or even some of the hip-hop heads, they are all versatile, eclectic and show a willingness to take risks and try new things. For some people, this is gateway music. It leads people to say, "That was dope. If I liked that, I might just like this...". It opens up a whole new world of sounds for someone new to music or just bored with the same old things. Sometimes, that's what creates new artists.
3 reasons. I will tell you he is a progressive black brother who advocated positivity to all and has called out many ppls.
He is a Muslim so that's another Target on his back. He don't sell out a true artist. His message is true but hard to fathom because we don't want to look at our selves as the Problem. Materialistic world. Badlands........ Yasin bey the man the Leg end we say in ENgland
Please talk about rappers: Juvenile, Twista, Wyclef Jean, and David Banner!
Especially David Banner. I give you another one: Petey Pablo
This a good one
Top 3 Brooklyn Rapper ever...
Mos is one of my favorite artist of all time. He had a different path that didn't align with being a mainstream superstar but he's a star nevertheless.
I think people just stop taking his music serious and started checking out his actor career
Black Dante‼️ Never Heard A Wack Verse From Mos Def . A Solid Actor Too.
Dr Dre said "fk rap you can have it back"
I think you got it backwards. He's transcended music. He's not trapped by a label or a record deal. Who doesn't want to be free to pursue their heart's desire? One of my all time favorites. Def spit bars. No genre, no gimmick, just himself
He was on boondocks as well. I think he was the voice of gangstalios
Yeah that was a surprise. Even though he was listed in the credits, it took me a few years to even realize that was him lol
His name says it all
What stunted Boyz N Da Hood and Gorillaz Zoe growth?
Snap movement ended and dude sounded just like BIG.. that’s a start! Lol
Jeezy was the only rapper with distinction and star potential. The rest were generic. Jody Breeze was cool, though.
Do a stunted growth for these artists. Tung Twista aka Twista, Redman, Method Man, Erick Sermon, Keith Murray ,Common Sense aka Common, Prodigy, Bone Enterpri$e aka Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Fat Joe Da Gangsta aka Fat Joe, Pras, Da Brat, Juvenile, Mystikal, Mack 10, WC, Kurupt, Tha Eastsidaz, Doggys Angels, 213, Outlaw Immortalz, Xzibit, Trick Daddy Dollars aka Trick Daddy, N.O.R.E. aka Noreaga, Cormega, Cam'ron, Canibus, Lil' Cease, Eve, Black Rob, Trina, Rah Digga, Ying Yang Twins, Sticky Fingaz, Tah Murdah aka Caddillac Tah, D12, Petey Pablo, Omarion, Styles P, Murphy Lee, Bravehearts, Crooked I, J-Kwon, Chamillionaire
I'm still waiting on Canibus.
@@shauncameron8390
Half of those you named are highly successful
Just because someone isnt kanye or Jay-Z dont mean they didn't succeed
@@shauncameron8390 oh yes im glad u mentioned him he definitely was missed out on after that LL situation
Mos Def, Def the best.