Mos Def has announced that at the end of 2011, he will no longer go by “Mos Def” and will instead release music under the name “Yasiin.” Speaking with MTV2’s Sucker Free, the Black Star member explained that he appreciates his current rap name, but that it’s time to move on.
“I’m retiring the Mos Def name after 2011. I’m actually doing it. Yasiin. That’s it,” he revealed. “Mos Def is a name that I built and cultivated over the years, it’s a name that the streets taught me, a figure of speech that was given to me by the culture and by my environment, and I feel I’ve done quite a bit with that name and it’s time to expand and move on. Also, I didn’t want to have to deal with having any moniker or separation between the self that I see and know myself as.”
Watch Mos make the announcement below.
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