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" 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. "
Mos Def
Thug
Artist
Black
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" 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. "
Mos Def
Language
Good
Passion
" 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. "
Mos Def
Love
Life
Reflection
" I'm trying to get low. People's personalities can get in the way of their own work. "
Mos Def
Trying
People
Own
" 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. "
Mos Def
People
Believe
Wrong
" I'm growing as an individual, but your always growing. All of my albums are snapshots of where I am artistically. "
Mos Def
Growing
Your
Individual
" 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. "
Mos Def
Best
People
Dress
" Hip-hop is the last true folk art. "
Mos Def
Art
Last
Hip-Hop
" I began to fear that Mos Def was being treated as a product, not a person, so I've been going by Yasiin since '99. At first it was just for friends and family, but now I'm declaring it openly. "
Mos Def
Friends And Family
Person
Family
" I'm not shy about heated debate or passionate discourse, but when people get crazy or rude, that's a buzz kill. There's got to be a better code of conduct, some basic etiquette. "
Mos Def
Debate
People
Rude
" I don't mind being black. I'm black out loud. It's more than the people that they are, it's the condition that they represent. "
Mos Def
Loud
Black
Mind
" But even creeps deserve to live someplace halfway decent. "
Mos Def
Live
Decent
Halfway
" I'm an independent thinker. And I'm not the poster child for any movement. I'm trying to support whatever's right no matter where it is. "
Mos Def
Support
Trying
Right
" Focused. I'm a hustler. And my hustle is trying to figure out the best ways to do what I like without having to do much else. "
Mos Def
Hustle
Focused
Best
" The ability to have somebody read something and see it, or for somebody to paint an entire landscape of visual imagery with just sheets of words - that's magical. That's what I've been trying to strive for - to draw a clear picture, to open up a new dimension. "
Mos Def
Landscape
Words
Paint
" 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. "
Mos Def
Negative
You
Name
" You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions. "
Mos Def
Experience
Ask
You
" I feel like I was the only person who was capable of making this type of music in this type of way. I don't rap like nobody, I don't try to sound like nobody. "
Mos Def
Person
Feel
Music
" I never had any ambitions of being a movie star or anything like that, but you know, this is nice. "
Mos Def
Star
Nice
Know
" It wouldn't be fair to cast aspersions on an entire cultural movement based on the actions of a few. To quote my grandfather, 'One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch.' "
Mos Def
Grandfather
Fair
Bad
" 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. "
Mos Def
Respect
Confidence
Music
" I didn't want to have to deal with having any moniker or separation between the self that I see and know myself as. "
Mos Def
Myself
Separation
Want
" I like to read the 'Financial Times' when I'm traveling. 'Economist.' 'Ad Busters.' "
Mos Def
Like
Read
Traveling
" And remember don't high post when you're far from home, and high posting when you're all alone. "
Mos Def
You
Alone
Far
" That's what I've been trying to strive for - to draw a clear picture, to open up a new dimension. "
Mos Def
Open
New
Up
" Record companies are not necessarily interested in you realizing your artistic dream. The bottom line is that they got to sell records. "
Mos Def
You
Got
Line
" 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. "
Mos Def
Me
Environment
Culture
" I guess something that you love to do, you gotta ease up off it and give it a little space, come back and be fresh to it. "
Mos Def
Love
Back
Fresh
" Twitter freaks me out. You have followers? It feels so obsessive and proprietary. "
Mos Def
Me
Feels
Out
" If you're going to do Chuck Berry, you got to, you know, go all out, and the duck walk is just kind of you know, cursory. That's like standing. "
Mos Def
Walk
Duck
Kind
" There are a lot of people who call themselves teachers or leaders, but they're really just propagandists. "
Mos Def
Leaders
Just
Call