Profile Text
Yasiin Bey in 2004, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: Dante Terrell Smith
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: December 11, 1973
Ethnicity: African-American
Yasiin Bey, previously known as Mos Def, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and activist. Aside from his solo music, he was a member of rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD), with his siblings; hip hop duo Black Star, with Talib Kweli; and experimental black music collective Soulquarians. He was a featured artist on De La Soul’s album Stakes is High . He has also been known as Black Dante, Dante Beze, Flaco, and El-Bey the Moor. Erykah Badu , Common , D’Angelo , Kweli, Questlove , and Q-Tip were also members of Soulquarians.
He is the son of Sheron and Abdulrahman Smith. His father was a member of the Nation of Islam, and later a follower of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, who merged into mainstream Sunni Islam. His mother is a motivational speaker, who wrote the book Shine Your Light: A Life Skills Workbook . Yasiin converted to Islam in his teens.
Populary known as Mos Def early in his career, he changed his name to Yasiin Bey in 2011. Yasiin has six children, including two with his former wife Maria Yepes; and R&B singer Laila Smith/Laila!