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 wouldnt have the means to express in a meaningful and useful way. – Mos Def
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
I began to fear that Mos Def was being treated as a product, not a person, so Ive been going by Yasiin since 99. At first it was just for friends and family, but now Im declaring it openly. – Mos Def
Good art provides people with a vocabulary about things they cant articulate. – Mos Def
The heavy rain beat down the tender branches of vine and jessamine, and trampled on them in its fury; and when the lightning gleamed, it showed the tearful leaves shivering and cowering together at the window, and tapping at it urgently, as if beseeching to be sheltered from the dismal night. – Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, Chapter XLIII
You know, rock stardom… I have a hard time discussing that because I dont really accept it. Its not really that tangible. Whats really bizarre is how its used as a thing – you know, Hes the rock star of politics, Hes the rock star of quarterbacks – like its the greatest thing in the world. – Eddie Vedder