Yasiin Bey (Mos Def)

Yasiin Bey (AKA Mos Def) Will Debut His First New Music In 5 Years With A Livestream Performance

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Remember how, during the lockdowns for COVID-19 in 2020, livestream performances were all the rage? Well, Yasiin Bey (who you might know as backpack rap pioneer Mos Def) hasn’t forgotten; he’ll be employing the livestream performance format as he debuts his first new music in five years, Money Christmas. The performance is slated for December 15 at 2 PM EST / 11 AM PST on Bey’s Bandcamp page. Access to the stream will be $7.99; afterward, fans will be able to access recordings of the video and audio tracks by purchasing limited-edition merch — including hoodies, stickers, and T-shirts — featuring a QR code linking to the archive.

Leave it to the perennial pioneer to push an innovative way to engage with and support the music. Bey’s most recent project, 2019’s Negus, took the form of an installation at Art Basel Hong Kong. Recorded in London in 2015, Negus will reportedly never be released on physical media or streaming services, meaning it can only be experienced live — sorta like that one-of-one Wu-Tang Clan album the Pharma Bro held hostage a few years ago. More recently, Bey reunited with Black Star partner in rhyme Talib Kweli to release their second album as a group, No Fear Of Time, nearly 25 years after their debut. Once again, they innovated; the album was initially only available exclusively on the podcast platform Luminary. Last year, though, they finally made it available on vinyl via Rhymesayers Entertainment.

Money Christmas will stream live on 12/15 and replay for 48 hours on Bandcamp.

Yasiin Bey’s Freestyle Over ‘Like That’ Has Fans Thinking He Dissed Drake, Kendrick Lamar, And J. Cole

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During a recent livestream on Instagram, the rapper now known as Yasiin Bey appeared to take shots at some participants in a recent rap beef as he freestyled over one of the songs they battled with. Over the instrumental from Metro Boomin’s “Like That” beat, Bey raps, “Greedy, seedy, and creepy/ Corny, horny, and boring/ Bougie, goofy, and moody/ Foolish, ruthless, and clueless/ Variations on a petty Big 3/ A whole lot to look at, but not much to see.”

The mention of the Big 3 has fans thinking the verse is a disappointed reference to Drake, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar, after repeated mentions of their grouping as a unit on records wound up touching off the battle between them. It was on “Like That” that Kendrick first yelled “motherf*ck the Big 3,” sparking the conflict between them. After J. Cole dropped out of the feud for personal reasons, Drake and Kendrick’s back-and-forth became increasingly noxious to the point that even the fans who egged them on quickly became disgusted with the vitriolic rhetoric.

It probably shouldn’t surprise anyone that Bey was equally disgusted with the beef. Back in 2003, the April 9 episode of Chappelle’s Show featured musical guests Yasiin Bey (then known as Mos Def) and Talib Kweli — collectively known as Black Star. The two Brooklyn rappers performed a new song called “What’s Beef.”

Over the course of his verse, Bey decried various high profile rap beefs, contrasting them with more dire current events. He even name-checked the conflict in Gaza, which goes to show how long people have effectively ignored what Bey would consider “real” beef in favor of WWF-style rap antics. “Beef is not what Jay said to Nas,” he said. “Beef is when working folks can’t find jobs / So they try to find n****s to rob / Try to find bigger guns so they can finish the job.” Bey later released a solo version on a mixtape, Mos Definite .

20 years later, it seems his opinions about rap beef he expressed in that verse haven’t changed, even though his name has.

Yasiin Bey Admits Drake Is A ‘Talented MC,’ But That Doesn’t Mean He Takes Back What He Said About Drake’s ‘Pop’ Music

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In an interview earlier this month, Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) said of Drake, “Drake is pop to me, in the sense like, if I was in Target in Houston and I heard a Drake song… it feels like a lot of his music is compatible with shopping. Or shopping with an edge in certain instances… It’s likable.”

That got some reactions online, including from Drake himself. Now, Bey has explained himself further.

In an Instagram Live broadcast yesterday (January 29), he said:

“Drake, if you’d like to speak to me directly, you can at any point. I reached out to [Dave] Chappelle, I actually reached out to you. I DM’d you. You are a very talented MC, but for me, I require more of myself and others than just talent or charm or charisma, particularly in times of urgent crisis. And what I would like to see, in terms of creators or creative people in the world, as it relates to our culture, is for people to connect with us beyond the jukebox or the dance floor.

A fair-weather friend can hardly be called a friend at all. The people who party with you: that’s cool. But will they show up for you when you’re at the triage?”

Check out the video below.

‘Kid Cudi Is A B*tch,’ Lupe Fiasco Declares After Cudi’s Throwback Story About Him From A Recent Interview

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Kids See Ghosts collaborators Kid Cudi and Kanye West have ended their beef, but Lupe Fiasco has no intention of mending things with Cudi. At least, that’s what his latest post online suggests.

Cudi recently sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe for an interview, and during the chat, he spoke about his time nearly brushing into Fiasco in 2008 while working at Bape’s retail store in New York. Cudi spoke about hiding from rappers when they would shop at the location to avoid giving them ammunition for future diss tracks. One of those rappers so happened to be Lupe Fiasco.

“If I get famous one day, I don’t ever want these n****s saying, ‘Yo, you sold me clothes. You my son,’” he said. “I couldn’t have that. This was my explanation. And when you think about it he hates me ’til this day. He hates me. So, it’s like I was right. I was onto something. I sensed something in the universe.”

On January 19, after getting wind of Cudi’s interview, Fiasco took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a message with his longtime foe. He wrote, “Kid Cudi is a b*tch. And continues to be a b*tch. Ain’t nobody finna bring up he used to work at the Bape Store to diss his b*tch ass for having a regular job before he was a famous b*tch with a cool job.”

The beef between the two rappers isn’t new, as it’s been brewing for a while now.

Watch the full interview above.

Black Star Share The Madlib-Produced Single ‘Mineral Mountain’ Featuring Black Thought

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Last week, Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey announced that their seminal hip-hop supergroup, Black Star, would be returning with their first new album since 1998’s cult classic, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star. Dubbed No Fear Of Time and due out on May 3rd, the new album sees Madlib stepping in as the producer and now, the lead single, “Mineral Mountain” featuring Black Thought, has just premiered via Kweli and Bey’s Luminary Podcasts show that they co-host with Dave Chappelle, The Midnight Miracle.

If this seems like an unusual way to premiere a single, it’s because it’s in line with the unique way in which No Fear Of Time is being released. The album will be out exclusively on the Luminary network, which is also where Kweli hosts the Uproxx-produced People’s Party With Talib Kweli.

As for the new track, you’ll have to hop on Luminary to hear it in full, but an Instagram user has uploaded a couple of previews. On the first one, Bey unleashes a verbal assault over punishing drums and distorted strings from Madlib:

The second clip sees the trio joining forces over intergalactic effects and those same silky drums from Madlib:

Kweli has said that the ethos behind making the music for No Fear Of Time is no different than the first time around when Black Star dropped a classic, but that for the new album, the recording locations were more fluid. “This entire album, we have not set foot in one recording studio,” Kweli said in a statement. “It’s all been done in hotel rooms and backstage at Dave Chappelle shows.”

No Fear Of Time comes out 05/03 via Luminary. Get details here.

Yasiin Bey Pulls Out Of The Announced Thelonius Monk Film After Monk’s Estate Condemns It

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Just 24 hours ago, fans of Yasiin Bey’s film work were excited to learn he’d be returning to the screen in the fascinating role of jazz legend Thelonius Monk. However, it took less than a day for those hopes to be dashed, as Bey revealed he’d been advised to join the project under false pretexts on social media. In a rare video posted to Instagram, Bey says that he was originally informed that the project had the Monk estate’s approval, however, after the project was announced, the estate made a statement condemning it.

As he says in the video, “Let me be clear. If the Monk estate is not happy with it, if Mr. Monk III is not happy with it, then neither am I.” He goes on to explain, “I was given every indication by the production company that the family was on board, one of my primary questions. Just as important as the music, if not more important, is that the family supported the project. I took them at their word and clearly that wasn’t the case.”

The rapper/actor also expresses his disappointment at the project not receiving the go-ahead, as he was eager to begin acting again. “I’m tight,” he says. “I haven’t done a film in a while. I haven’t had a great yearning to do one but this one, I was really excited about. Perhaps another time under better auspices. C’est la vie.”

Watch Yasiin Bey’s explanation video above.