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" I'm retiring the Mos Def name after 2011. I'm actually doing it. "

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" Reckless capitalism kills black people. "

" My presence speaks volumes before I say a word. "

" Everything's got space between it, the planets, trees, your eyes. Your eyes get too close together, it's a whole different world. You can lose perspective. "

" 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. "

" I know what it feels like to have the door slammed firmly in my face, so I'm cool with that. "

" You have to be an extremist to believe that you're gonna be the president of the United States and your name is Barack Hussein Obama! And he's using extreme methods, but his application is very smooth. Michelle Obama is extreme, her presence is extreme. And it's an extreme good. Extreme is not negative. "

" But even creeps deserve to live someplace halfway decent. "

" 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 wouldn't have the means to express in a meaningful and useful way. "

" You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions. "

" Record companies are not necessarily interested in you realizing your artistic dream. The bottom line is that they got to sell records. "

" You're not gonna get through life without being worshipful or devoted to something. You're either devoted to your job, or to your desires. So the best way to spend your life is to try to be devoted to prayer, to Allah. "

" I don't wanna get into that space where a lot of guys now, their solo album is like eight or 10 songs with other people, you don't get an idea of who this guy is. I just wasn't interested in that. "

" I'm inspired by playwrights, novelists, poets: The value of language has been a lifelong passion of mine. I enjoy it. I'm good at it. "

" Hip-hop is the last true folk art. "

" I get reminded a lot of the time that my life is a little bit different, but I'm just trying to keep it as regular as possible because I like it that way. "

" I got my first exposure to Islam when I was 13. "

" I don't have advice for people on how to dress. People should dress based on what they find beautiful. My best advice: Keep your clothes clean. "

" I never had any ambitions of being a movie star or anything like that, but you know, this is nice. "

" It's possible and available to any artist to be himself or herself on their own terms, to be accepted and embraced by black people. You don't have to be a thug to get love from black people. "

" I like to read the 'Financial Times' when I'm traveling. 'Economist.' 'Ad Busters.' "

" Good art provides people with a vocabulary about things they can't articulate. "

" If 'Life in Marvelous Times' can't get on the radio, then I don't need to be on the radio. "

" Bob Marley performed the 'One Love Peace' concert in Jamaica with the two different warring political sides. There's always been that in black music and culture in general. It's no surprise because black music is such a reflection of what's going on in black life. It's not unusual for hip-hop. "

" I believe the projects were a social experiment; we were laboratory rats stacked on top of each other, and people just knew, inherently, that there was something wrong. There's not a lot of regard for the property by the residents. "

" And remember don't high post when you're far from home, and high posting when you're all alone. "

" I don't want to waste anyone's time or money. I want to give people some truth and positive heart lift. "

" I'm just an artist and I'm doin' what I like to do. "

" 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. "

" I've been fortunate with my acting career. A lot of scripts come to me. I don't mind auditioning if something that requires that, but I haven't had to in awhile, which is a nice place to be 'cause I've been on quite a lot of auditions in my life. "

" I don't hate nobody. I hate certain conditions that are inflicted upon the people - and they're helpless with it. "