Mos Def To Retire His Name At The End Of 2011, Renaming Himself Yasiin

Masha-Allah...Yasin is a noble name. For those who KNOW...! I support the brother. In all reality, it is not a name change, his real name IS YASIN!! Keep on progressing Aki...Salaam.

It's called self-progression, and by expanding his skills and polishing up his public image, he'll be able to do it bigger than life...Yasiin may end up being able a problem in the game, just don't forget that Blackstarr album...

Not interested in responding to some of the negative comments below, we all have an opinion and a right to express it. So here's mine: Mos is one of my 5 favorite hip hop artists of all time (yes, all time). At first glance I wasn't completely sold on the name change until I heard him pronounce it, sort of similar to how his name is pronounced in a similar fashion to "most def". In the end, it's not the name that matters, it's the music, so as long as I hear some more great stuff out of him soon I'll be satisfied.

Problem with rappers with any sense of artistry is that they eventually feel that hip-hop is 'beneath them' and start singing or picking up a guitar. Andre 3000, Sage Francis, Mos Def, for instance. Mos Def is a dumb example. While he was a good rapper, his inflated sense of what he has achieved in hip-hop is only equalled by his fans. Black on Both Sides was alright, as was the Ecstatic, but most of his work is ruined by misguided 'experimentation'. YOU'RE A RAPPER. RAP.

Diamond and Notorious BIG will always be referred to as Diamond D and Biggie, Mos Def will always be called by his original moniker as well.

mos def should RETIRE altogether. this dude is pathetic. he dropped 2 classics out the gate, and hasn't done ANYTHING since worth talking about. lame actor, gets credit just cuz he gets work. lazy rapper. put out a whole heap of average/garbage shit. yet he still gets gassed by these little artisan, flip flop, frat boy, rap fans. i know so many kids that front like they like mos def just to seem like they know hip hop. i'll be like, "word? what's ya favorite joints?"... "uhh, i'm not sure, i just listen to his freestyles on youtube". mos def went from god like rapper to someone i shake my head at. he lost his edge 10 years ago, name change won't fix that. i await the angry mos def fans, who think his last album was incredible. lazy mos def verses over old madlib beats is not incredible, blackstar and black on both sides was incredible.

To me this is what it is... MOS DEF/YASIIN is moving to a new label (he's on or will be on g.o.o.d music/defjam right)his old label/record company are not allowing him the use of that name...seen it done before.. guy I knew had to go the legal route so he could reclaim the right to release music under his very own name.. ..reaching??? ok check out every time diddy has chnaged his name and see how often it has coincided with label changes/shifts...

Straight up...."Mos Def" is the dopest name for a rapper. Why the fuck is this nigga changing is name. ALthough I respect him if he wants to...i jsut think, for years...uve been rocking and acting being known as Mos Def, and then he pulls this weird shit. And it aint against any Islamic name...coz I got love for muslims, but this is just DUMB. You can thank Puffy,buffy p.diddy muthafucka for this trend!

Nigga shoulda just went with Black Dante if he was gonna change his name. Yaasin or whatever the fuck sounds kinda stupid. SMH. http://spitgame-shells.bandcamp.com/releases JihaD

This is a dumb idea, ask puff daddy