Yasiin Bey
Birth : 1973-12-11, Brooklyn, New York, USA
History
Regarded as one of hip hop's most introspective and insightful artists, Yasiin Bey, known professionally as Mos Def, has shaped a career that transcends music genres and artistic medium. A child of hip hop's Golden Era, the native Brooklynite spent his childhood imbedded in the culture surrounding him, as well as absorbing knowledge from across the artistic spectrum. With the release of "Universal Magnetic" (1996) under the well-known moniker Mos Def, he became an underground favorite in the hip-hop world, leading to his legendary collaboration with Talib Kweli. The two formed Black Star whose debut album, Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, would become one of the most critically acclaimed hip-hop albums. Mos followed with his 1999 solo debut, Black On Both Sides, which was certified gold and credited by critics as bringing hip hop back to its soapbox roots. As with his music, Mos has demonstrated insight and passion with his acting career, appearing in Spike Lee's Bamboozled, MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera, 2002's critically acclaimed Monster's Ball, Showtime, and the 2002 romantic comedy Brown Sugar, for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination. Mos completed his Broadway debut in 2002 in the Tony-nominated, Pulitzer Prize-winning, Topdog/Underdog. Mos re-teamed with Topdog playwright, Suzan Lori Parks and director George Wolfe for the off-Broadway play Fucking A, for which he was awarded an Obie Award. In 2003, Mos Def starred in Paramount Pictures' The Italian Job alongside Ed Norton, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron. In 2004, Mos Def starred opposite Alan Rickman in the critically acclaimed HBO movie Something the Lord Made, for which he received a 2004 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie. Def was also nominated for both a Golden Globe Award (Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture) and Golden Satellite Award (Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television) for the same role. Mos Def continued his music career by releasing his highly anticipated and critically acclaimed sophomore solo release, The New Danger (2004). The album was met with praise from both critics and fans alike. The first single, "Sex, Love and Money" earned Def a 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative/Urban Performance, and the album has been certified gold by the RIAA. The following year, he appeared alongside Bruce Willis in the crime thriller 16 Blocks (2006), in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, and had a cameo appearance in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Also in 2006, he released his third solo album, True Magic. The next year, he appeared in the 2007 PBS historical documentary, Prince Among Slaves, and in 2008 he played the role of Chuck Berry in Cadillac Records. In 2009, Def released the album The Ecstatic, which proved to be his second highest-charting album to date. He also appeared in the urban comedy, Next Day Air and guest-starred in an episode of the FOX TV series, House. He appeared (as himself) in the 2010 mockumentary film I’m Still Here, starring Joaquin Phoenix. Mos Def announced in September of 2011 that he had changed his name to Yasiin Bey, and would go by it henceforth. In the first month of 2016, Bey declared his retirement from both the film and music industries.
Himself
Jazz trumpet legend Roy Hargrove, deemed by his peers as a musical prophet, up close and personal like you have never seen him before. The film follows Grammy award winning Roy Hargrove from Los Angeles, Paris, New York, Vienne, Perugia, Sète, Sorrento and Marseille during a summer European tour in what would be the last year of his life. An epic love letter from first time director Eliane Henri, the film features interviews and live performances by Roy inclusive of musical icons Erykah Badu, Herbie Hancock, Mos Def, Robert Glasper, Wynton Marsalis and Sonny Rollins who reflect on the magic of his music, Roy's impact on the next generation and his place in the history of jazz. Key conversations reverberate beyond Roy's personal story and enter the terrain of what it means to be an artist, particularly in the American context.
Self (archive footage)
The untold story of the world’s longest running video show, Video Music Box. A hip hop mainstay since 1983, VMB gave a platform to artists like Jay-Z, Nas and Mary J. Blige before they hit it big. Host Ralph McDaniels’ archives — amassed over 40 nearly years — reveal the show’s importance to numerous big-name musicians, as well as to the kids that grew up watching.
My Blackest self, whose whitest death, is luxury. I am no stranger anymore. The world is love to me.
Self
An outstanding lineup of entertainers gathers in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to salute Dave Chappelle, recipient of the 22nd annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Himself
Focused on the life of the band and their collaborators over the 3 vital years in which they developed critically acclaimed albums, 'Humanz' and 'The Now Now', and undertook their most ambitious world tour to date.
Focé
Far’Hook is a 20-year-old rapper. Following a violent dispute with a rival, he’s forced to leave Paris for a while. His producer, Bilal, suggests that Far’Hook acts as driver for Bilal’s father, Serge, on a tour of French ports, following in the footsteps of the classic painter Joseph Vernet. Despite the age gap and culture clash, an unlikely friendship forms between this talented rapper and a bricklayer from the north of France during a road trip that concludes in Marseille for a final concert, one of reconciliation.
Self
A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.
Ordell Robbie
Two common criminals get more than they bargained for after kidnapping the wife of a corrupt real-estate developer who shows no interest in paying the $1 million dollar ransom for her safe return.
Saul
Gretta, a budding songwriter, finds herself alone after her boyfriend Dave ditches her. Her life gains purpose when Dan, a record label executive, notices her talent.
Yasiin Bey appears in a video demonstrating the Standard Operating Procedure for force-feeding prisoners on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay.
Himself
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP is a feature length performance documentary about the runaway juggernaut that is Rap music. At the wheel of this unstoppable beast is the film's director and interviewer Ice-T. Taking us on a deeply personal journey Ice-T uncovers how this music of the street has grown to dominate the world. Along the way Ice-T meets a whole spectrum of Hip-Hop talent, from founders, to new faces, to the global superstars like Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West. He exposes the roots and history of Rap and then, through meeting many of its most famous protagonists, studies the living mechanism of the music to reveal 'The Art Of Rap'. This extraordinary film features unique performances from the entire cast, without resorting to archive material, to build a fresh and surprising take on the phenomenon that is Rap.
Self
Having forged a 20-year run as one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the Queens NY collective known as 'A Tribe Called Quest' have kept a generation hungry for more of their groundbreaking music since their much publicized breakup in 1998. Michael Rapaport documents the inner workings and behind the scenes drama that follows the band to this day. He explores what's next for, what many claim, are the pioneers of alternative rap.
Mos Def
I'm Still Here is a portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, the film follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip-hop musician. The film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads and explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.
This documentary follows the efforts of Abraham "Abramz" Tekya and Breakdance Project Uganda (BPU) to use dance to empower youth in war-torn Uganda. The film is a testimony of Crazy Legs of Rock Steady Crew and his experiences in the BPU program. The film features narration by Common and additional interviews with Mos Def, will.i.am and K'Naan. Also appearing in the film is Okot Jolly Grace, whose guidance enabled the filmmakers to see and understand the plight of children in northern Uganda.
Self
A documentary about the production, recording and development of Gorillaz' third studio album, Plastic Beach.
Eric
Two inept criminals are mistakenly delivered a package of cocaine and think they've hit the jackpot, triggering a series of events that changes ten people's lives forever.
Chuck Berry
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Thanks
A short documentary, looking at life in Passaic, New Jersey, whilst the film Be Kind Rewind (2008) is being shot there.
Narrator
Abdul Rahman, an African prince who was sold into slavery, spent four decades in servitude before an amazing coincidence took him to the White House to meet President John Quincy Adams, where he was granted his freedom. Mos Def narrates this PBS documentary that includes reenactments of scenes from Rahman's life and interviews with historians who discuss the conditions faced by slaves in early America.
Mike
A man whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend's video store. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films.
Self
William Francome is a fairly typical, white middle-class guy. Typical except for the fact that he is about to embark on a journey into the dark heart of the American judicial system; the tangled world of renowned Death Row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Mos Def
The fastest man on four wheels, Ricky Bobby is one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. A big, hairy American winning machine, Ricky has everything a dimwitted daredevil could want, a luxurious mansion, a smokin' hot wife and all the fast food he can eat. But Ricky's turbo-charged lifestyle hits an unexpected speed bump when he's bested by flamboyant Euro-idiot Jean Girard and reduced to a fear-ridden wreck.
Wemba
In a dark and decadent area of São Paulo, the exiled Americans Rosso and his son Paul own a brothel. Paul is a compulsive gambler addicted in cocaine and his father is married with the former prostitute Angie, and they have a little son. When a client is killed by his wife in their establishment, they find a suitcase with drugs.
Eddie Bunker
An aging cop is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness from police custody to a courthouse, but they find themselves running the gauntlet as other forces try to prevent them from getting there.
A documentary on the secret dossiers that police, FBI, and task agencies have compiled on hip-hop performers and industry executives.
Self - (as Mos Def)
The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.
Self
An in-depth examination of the complete production of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005).
Ford Prefect
Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
The Bandleader
In a story fueled by rhythm and blues, a young boy's life is shaped by love and the stories of a cast of characters in the boarding house where he lives in 1960s Lackawanna, New York.
Sgt. Lucas
A paedophile returns to his hometown after 12 years in prison and attempts to start a new life.
Vivien Thomas
A dramatization of the relationship between heart surgery pioneers Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.
Michael Meadows
Forced to work under slave-like conditions in a "prison for profit" program, the inmates of a mostly-African-American female prison, Whitehead Correctional, try to take over the institution. At the core of the story is Frances, who finds herself in prison after being falsely convicted of murder, and who is told that her baby has been murdered, sparking her to lead her fellow inmates in the protest
Left Ear
Charlie Croker pulled off the crime of a lifetime. The one thing that he didn't plan on was being double-crossed. Along with a drop-dead gorgeous safecracker, Croker and his team take off to re-steal the loot and end up in a pulse-pounding, pedal-to-the-metal chase that careens up, down, above and below the streets of Los Angeles.
Himself
Gil Scott-Heron was one of the most influential musicians and poets of the last 50 years. In Don Letts's documentary, Gil tells his own story for the first time-from being one of the first black children to integrate an all white Southern state school to becoming the Godfather of Rap. There are contributions from Chuck D, Mos Def, Richi Havens and the Last Poets, among others. Filmed in October 2003, Gil performs live and recites poetry out on the streets of Harlem, which have inspired so much of his music.
Himself
This documentary praises comedian Richard Pryor by showing fragments of various shows Pryor made and having famous comedians talk about the importance and greatness of Pryor. Different themes are reviewed this way. Among others, they are the use of the word nigger, the way Pryor talked about racism, the fact Pryor talked openly about his own faults on-stage and the fact he didn't mince matters.
Chris 'Cav' Anton Vichon
Friends since childhood, a magazine editor and a hip-hop record executive stumble into romantic territory.
Lazy Boy
A spoof of buddy cop movies where two very different cops are forced to team up on a new reality based T.V. cop show.
Ryrus Cooper
Set in the southern USA, a racist white man, Hank, falls in love with a black woman named Leticia. Ironically, Hank is a prison guard working on Death Row who executed Leticia's husband. Hank and Leticia's inter-racial affair leads to confusion and new ideas for the two unlikely lovers.
Lt. Miller
An engaged Philadelphia policeman falls in love with a beautiful woman while dealing with a corrupt superior.
Robbie J
Stranded on a deserted island, a group of people struggle to survive against a swarm of supernatural flies.
Mau Mau: Big Blak Afrika
TV producer Pierre Delacroix becomes frustrated when network brass reject his sitcom idea. Hoping to get fired, Delacroix pitches the worst idea he can think of: a 21st century minstrel show. The network not only airs it, but it becomes a smash hit.
Himself
From neighborhood ciphers to the most notorious MC battles, "Freestyle: the Art of Rhyme" captures the electrifying energy of improvisational hip-hop--the rarely recorded art form of rhyming spontaneously. Like preachers and jazz solos, freestyles exist only in the moment, a modern-day incarnation of the African-American storytelling tradition. Shot over a period of more than seven years, it is already an underground cult film in the hip-hop world. The film systematically debunks the false image put out by record companies that hip-hop culture is violent or money-obsessed. Instead, it lets real hip-hop artists, known and unknown, weave their story out of a passionate mix of language, politics, and spirituality.
Wilt Crawley
After making a disastrous 3-hour documentary on New York City's water supply, two young filmmakers focus on the goings-on of life in the LA offices of Boone and Murphy, private investigators. Cheating husbands and missing dogs fail to bring in the big bucks, however, and after sleeping with the wife of one of their clients Murphy leaves. To stop Boone from having to close down the business, the filmmakers must resort to a more hands-on approach in the investigations to ensure the completion of their movie.
Dante
In the town of Normal Valley, an eccentric magician named Maestro entertains the local children every day in his spooky mansion. One stormy night, the town's mayor leads a group of angry citizens to the mansion in an attempt to run Maestro out of town.
Dead Romeos
Seeking to raise his credibility as an actor and to land a role as a tough cop on a new show, Hollywood action star Nick Lang works a deal with New York City Police Capt. Brix, who by chance is one of his fans. Nick will be paired with detective Lt. John Moss and learn how to act like a real cop. But when Nick drives John crazy with questions and imitating him, he gets in the way of John's pursuit of a serial killer.
Richard Watkins
Single mother, Theresa Johnson, becomes homeless, loses her job and tries to survive with her young daughter, Hillary, through charities and public shelters.
