After acting, helping hip hop back to consciousness, providing a big spark to the underground scene, dropping a classic solo LP, and even a rock’n roll project, Mos Def has taken his incredible talents to Broadway. After Don Cheadle backed out of the lead role in “Topdog/Underdog,” Mos Def was offered the role as “Booth” and he accepted it. The play is about two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, who are haunted by their pasts.
While this is Mos’ first Broadway performance, he is no stranger to acting. “A lot of people don’t know I was acting before I started my music career,” Mos Def told Billboard. “It takes a lot less time to get recognized as musician than as an actor. When you’re a musician, you’re always the star. When you’re an actor, you’re part of a cast of many, and your first movie usually doesn’t make you a star.”
Mos Def appeared in the Spike Lee film “Bamboozled” and was a regular on the “Cosby Mysteries” television series. Mos can also be seen along side Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thorton in “Monster Ball” and the upcoming “Showtime” with Robert DeNiro.
