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" I've always loved rhyming. I love language. "

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" I just don't think it's very dignified to ask people to like you. You can just wind up being somebody's ottoman. "

" 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. "

Friends And Family

" 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 feel like being into the beat of your own drum has become too prominent in the culture. "

" There are a lot of people who call themselves teachers or leaders, but they're really just propagandists. "

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

" 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 come from a family of very devout, praying people. That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn't be nationalistic or denominational. It should be a chief concern for all mankind. "

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

" With guys I revere, like Marcus Garvey or Malcolm X, their look is less about style than purpose and the expression of beauty. It wasn't just about being noticed, you know? "

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

" I didn't want to have to deal with having any moniker or separation between the self that I see and know myself as. "

" 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. "

" 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'm growing as an individual, but your always growing. All of my albums are snapshots of where I am artistically. "

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

" 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. "

" When people say, 'I don't see you enough,' well just because you don't see me don't mean I don't exist, or just 'cause you haven't heard me don't mean I haven't been making noise. But if I keep making noise, you'll pick up. "

" 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. "

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

" To me, playing an instrument and singing, all of these different things are just as natural to me as rhyming. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

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

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

" 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. "

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

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

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