Look up Cypher in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Cypher may refer to:

• A royal cypher or monogram-like glyph

Art and entertainment[link]

• Cypher (French Group), a Goa trance music group
• Cypher (Perth Band), an Australian instrumental band
• Cypher (film), a 2002 film
• Cypher (album), an album by ...And Oceans
• Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero, a 1950s-era cartoon program
• In breaking/B-boying, the name given to a circle of b-boys who take turns dancing in the center.
• In poetry slam, the name given to a circle of poets who take turns reciting poems, usually occurring at an afterparty.
• A hip-hop jam session or freestyle battle
• A series of distinctive but uncombined initials, such as a royal cypher. This is similar to a monogram, where the letters are combined.
• Cypher / Traitors Gate 2, a 2002 computer game. Sequel to Traitors Gate.

Fictional characters[link]

• Cypher, a character in the film The Matrix
• Cypher (comics) (a.k.a. Doug Ramsey), a Marvel Comics character
• Cypher (Warhammer 40,000), a character from the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe
• The hero of Ace Combat Zero
• The sword-like weapon of Strider Hiryu, a character from the Strider Hiryu manga and various related videogames
• Richard Cypher (also known as Richard Rahl), the protagonist of The Sword of Truth series.
• A character in H.I.V.E. series.

Persons[link]

• Jon Cypher (* 1930), American actor
• Alexey Yanushevsky, a professional gamer who goes by the pseudonym Cypher
• Cypher Zero, American circus innovator

Science[link]

• Cypher (UAV), an unmanned aerial vehicle

Medicine[link]

• Cypher stent, a type of drug-eluting stent

Software[link]

• Cypher transcoder, a natural language processing framework
• Cypher Query Language, a declarative query language for graph databases

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Mos Def
Mos Def at YBCA in San Francisco on December 31, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Dante Terrell Smith
Also known as	Yasiin Bey
Born	(1973-12-11) December 11, 1973 (age 38) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	East Coast hip hop, alternative hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, actor, singer, activist
Years active	1996 – present
Labels	Rawkus, Priority, Geffen, Downtown, GOOD Music, DD172
Associated acts	Soulquarians, Black Star, Talib Kweli, Native Tongues Posse, Kanye West, Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Pharoahe Monch, Eminem, Blakroc, Robert Glasper Experiment

Dante Terrell Smith (born December 11, 1973) is an American actor and MC, known by the stage names Mos Def ( /ˌmoʊsˈdɛf/) and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which released the album Black Star in 1998. He was a major force in late 1990s underground hip hop while with Rawkus Records. As a solo artist he has released the albums Black on Both Sides in 1999, The New Danger in 2004, True Magic in 2006, and The Ecstatic in 2009.^[1]

Although he was initially recognized for his musical output, since the early 2000s, Mos Def's screen work has established him as one of only a handful of rappers who has garnered critical acclaim for his acting work. He is well known for his portrayal of Brother Sam in the American drama series Dexter. Mos Def has also been active in several social and political causes.

Early life[link]

He was born Dante Terrell Smith in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Sheron Smith and Abdul Rahman.^[2] He was raised by his mother in Brooklyn; his father lived in New Jersey. While his father was initially a member of the Nation of Islam and later an active member in the community of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, who merged into mainstream Islam from the Nation, Mos Def was not exposed to Islam until the age of 13. At 19, he took his shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith. He is friends with Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.^[2]

Career[link]

Music[link]

In 1996, Mos Def emerged as a solo artist and worked with De La Soul and Da Bush Babees, before he released his own first single, "Universal Magnetic".

Mos Def in 1999

Mos Def signed with Rawkus Records and formed the group Black Star with Talib Kweli. They released an album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star, in 1998.^[3] Mostly produced by Hi-Tek, the album featured the hit singles, "Respiration" and "Definition", which would go on to be featured in VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.^[4] Mos Def released his solo debut album Black on Both Sides in 1999, also through Rawkus.^[5] Around this time he also contributed to the Scritti Politti album Anomie & Bonhomie and Rawkus compilations Lyricist Lounge and Soundbombing.

Def performing at Rock the Bells (New York).

After the collapse of Rawkus, he signed to Interscope/Geffen Records, which released his second solo album The New Danger in 2004.^[6] The New Danger contained a mix of several musical genres, including soul, blues, and rock and roll, performed with his rock band Black Jack Johnson, which contained members of the bands Bad Brains and Living Colour. The singles included "Sex, Love & Money" and the B-side "Ghetto Rock"; the latter went on to receive several Grammy Award nominations in 2004.

Mos Def's final solo album for Geffen Records, True Magic, was released in 2006.

The song "Crime & Medicine" is essentially a cover of GZA's 1995 single "Liquid Swords", though it contains different verses. Also, the track "Undeniable" samples a version of the Barrett Strong/Norman Whitfield composition "Message from a Black Man". The song "Dollar Day" uses the same beat as Juvenile's "Nolia Clap".^[7]

On November 7, 2007, Mos Def performed live in San Francisco at a venue called The Mezzanine. This performance was recorded for an upcoming "Live in Concert" DVD. During this performance Mos Def announced that he would be releasing a new album to be called The Ecstatic. He sang a number of new tracks; in later shows, Def previewed tracks produced by Madlib and was rumored to be going to Kanye West for new material. Producer and fellow Def Poet Al Be Back stated that he would be producing as well.^[8] The album was released on June 9, 2009; upon its release, only Madlib's production had made the cut, along with tracks by Preservation, The Neptunes, Mr. Flash, Madlib's brother Oh No, a song by J. Dilla, and Georgia Anne Muldrow.

Mos Def appears alongside Kanye West on the track "Two Words" from The College Dropout album, the track "Drunk And Hot Girls" and the bonus track "Good Night" off West's third major album, Graduation. In 2002, he released the 12" single Fine, which was featured in the Brown Sugar Motion Picture Soundtrack.^[9]

Mos Def also appears on the debut album from fellow New Yorkers Apollo Heights on a track titled, "Concern." In October, he signed a deal with Downtown Records and appeared on a remix to the song "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice.^[10] Mos Def appeared on Stephen Marley's debut album Mind Control on the song "Hey Baby." In 2009, Mos Def worked together with Somali rapper K'naan to produce the track "America" for K'naan's album Troubadour.^[11]

In April 2008 he appeared on the title track for a new album by The Roots entitled Rising Down. The new single, Life In Marvelous Times, was made officially available through iTunes on November 4, 2008, and is available for stream on the Roots' website Okayplayer.

April 2009 saw him traveling to South Africa for the first time where he performed accompanied by The Robert Glasper Experiment at the renowned Cape Town International Jazz Festival. He enticed his bemused African following with an encore introduced by his own rendition of John Coltrane's "Love Supreme" followed by a sneak preview of the track "M.D. (Doctor)", much to the delight of the fans.^[12]

Mos Def also designed two pairs of limited edition Converse shoes. The shoes were released to Foot Locker stores on August 1, 2009 in very limited amounts.^[13]

In late 2009, Mos Def created a brand of clothing line with UNDRCRWN called the "Mos Def Cut & Sew Collection." All clothing items will be sold in select stores located around the U.S. and almost exclusively on the UNDRCRWN website.^[14] 2009 also found Mos Def among the MCs collaborating with the Black Keys on the first Blakroc album, a project headed by the Black Keys and Damon Dash. Mos Def appeared with Jim Jones and the Black Keys on the Late Show with David Letterman to perform the Blakroc track "Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)".

In March 2010, Mos Def's song Quiet Dog Bite Hard was featured in Palm's "Life moves fast. Don't miss a thing." campaign.^[15]

Mos Def features on the first single, "Stylo", from the third Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach, alongside soul legend Bobby Womack. He also appears on the track titled "Sweepstakes".

In September 2010, after appearing on Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Friday track "Lord Lord Lord", Mos Def confirmed his signing with GOOD Music.^[16]

Mos Def has been an active contributor to the recovery of the oil spill in the Gulf, performing concerts and raising money towards the repair of the damages. In June 2010, he recorded a cover of the classic New Orleans song originally by Smokey Johnson, "It Ain't My Fault" with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Lenny Kravitz and Trombone Shorty.

In September 2011, Mos Def announced that he planned to use the name Yasiin instead of Mos Def beginning in 2012.^[17]

In January 2012, it was reported that Mos Def and Talib Kweli had begun "to resurrect" Black Star.^[18]

Acting[link]

He began his professional acting career at the age of fourteen, appearing in the TV movie God Bless the Child, starring Mare Winningham. He then played the oldest child in the short-lived family sitcom, You Take the Kids, starring Nell Carter and Roger E. Mosley. His most notable acting role before his music career was that of Bill Cosby's sidekick on the short-lived detective show, The Cosby Mysteries. He also starred in a 1996 Visa check card commercial featuring Deion Sanders. In 1997 he had a small role alongside Michael Jackson in his short film and music video "Ghosts".

After brief appearances in Bamboozled^[19] and Monster's Ball,^[20] Mos re-invigorated his acting career with his performance as a talented rapper who is reluctant to sign to a major label in Brown Sugar.^[21] He was nominated for an Image Award and a Teen Choice Award.^[22]

In 2001, he took a supporting role to Beyoncé Knowles and Mehki Phifer in the MTV movie Carmen: A Hip Hopera as Lt. Miller, a crooked cop.

In 2002, he played the role of Booth in Suzan-Lori Parks' Topdog/Underdog, a Tony-nominated and Pulitzer-winning Broadway play. He and co-star Jeffrey Wright won a Special Award from the Outer Critics Circle Award for their joint performance.^[23] He also received positive notices as the quirky Left Ear in the blockbuster hit, The Italian Job in 2003.^[24] He also appeared in 2003 in the music video You Don't Know My Name of the song by Alicia Keys.

In television, Mos Def has appeared on NYPD Blue,^[25] on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show,^[26] and has hosted the award-winning HBO spoken word show, Def Poetry since its inception.^[27] The show's sixth season aired in 2007. He also appeared on the sitcom My Wife And Kids as the disabled friend of Michael Kyle (Damon Wayans).

Mos Def won Best Actor, Independent Movie at the 2005 Black Reel Awards for his portrayal of Detective Sgt. Lucas in The Woodsman.^[28] For his portrayal of Vivien Thomas in HBO's film Something the Lord Made,^[29] he was nominated for an Emmy Award^[30] and a Golden Globe, and won the Image Award. He also played a bandleader in HBO's Lackawanna Blues. He then landed the role of Ford Prefect in the 2005 movie adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.^[31]

Def and Bruce Willis on the set of 16 Blocks, filmed on location in Chinatown, Manhattan on Pell Street.

In 2006, Mos Def appeared in Dave Chappelle's Block Party alongside fellow Black Star companion Talib Kweli, while also contributing to the film's soundtrack.^[32] Also, Mos Def was featured as the black banjo player in the infamous "Pixie Sketch" from Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes. He was later edited out of it on the DVD. Additionally, Mos Def starred in the action film 16 Blocks alongside Bruce Willis and David Morse.^[33] He has a recurring guest role on Boondocks, starring as "Gangstalicious". He is also set to be in Toussaint, a film about Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture, opposite Don Cheadle and Wesley Snipes. He made a cameo appearance — playing himself — in the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.^[34]

In 2007, Mos Def narrated the PBS-broadcast documentary Prince Among Slaves.

In 2008, Mos Def starred in the Michel Gondry movie Be Kind Rewind, playing a video rental store employee whose best friend is played by co-star Jack Black.^[35] He also portrayed Chuck Berry in the film Cadillac Records,^[36] for which he was nominated for a Black Reel Award and an Image Award.

In 2009, he appeared in the House episode entitled "Locked In" as a patient suffering from locked-in syndrome. His performance was well-received, with E! saying that Mos Def "delivers an Emmy-worthy performance."^[37] He was also in the 2009 film Next Day Air.

In 2010, he appeared on the children's show Yo Gabba Gabba! as Super Mr. Superhero. He also appeared in A Free Man of Color, John Guare's play at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.^[38]

In 2011, he began a multi-episode appearance on the Showtime television series Dexter. He played Brother Sam, an ex-con who has supposedly found religion despite finding himself in violent situations.^[39]

Social and political views[link]

In 2000, Mos Def performed a benefit concert for death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal.^[40]

In September 2005, Mos Def released the single "Katrina Clap," renamed "Dollar Day" for True Magic, (utilizing the instrumental for New Orleans rappers UTP's "Nolia Clap"). The song is a criticism of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. On the night of the MTV Video Music Awards, Mos Def pulled up in front of Radio City Music Hall on a flatbed truck and began performing the "Katrina Clap" single in front of a crowd that quickly gathered around him. He was subsequently arrested despite having a public performance permit in his possession.^[41]

On September 7, 2007, Mos Def appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher where he spoke about racism against African Americans, citing the government response to Hurricane Katrina, the Jena Six and the murder conviction of Mumia Abu-Jamal. He appeared on Real Time again on March 27, 2009, and spoke about the risk of nuclear weapons.^[42] Mos Def said that he did not listen to any of Osama Bin Laden's messages because he did not trust the translations.^[43]

Personal life[link]

In 1996, Def married Maria Yepes. After having two daughters, Chandani and Jauhara Smith, he filed for divorce in 2005.^[44]

In October 2006 Mos Def appeared on 4Real, a documentary television series.^[45] Appearing in the episode "City of God," he and the 4Real crew traveled to City of God, a slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to meet Brazilian MC MV Bill and learn about the crime and social problems of the community.^[46]

Nominations[link]

• Black Movie Awards
  • 2006 Source Awards
• Black Reel Awards
  • 2008, Best Supporting Actor: Cadillac Records
  • 2003, Best Actor- Independent: Civil Brand
  • 2004, Best Supporting Actor: The Italian Job
  • 2005, Best Actor TV Movie/Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made
  • 2005, Best Indie Actor: The Woodsman (won)
• Emmy Award
  • 2004, Best Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made
• Golden Globes
  • 2005, Best Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made
• Grammy Awards
  • 2005, Best Urban/Alternative Performance: "Sex, Love & Money"
  • 2006, Best Urban/Alternative Performance: "Ghetto Rock"
  • 2007, Best Rap Solo Performance: "Undeniable"
  • 2010, Best Rap Solo Performance: "Casa Bey"
  • 2010, Best Rap Album: "The Ecstatic"
  • 2011, Best Short Form Music Video: "Stylo" (with Bobby Womack and Gorillaz)
• Image Awards
  • 2009, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Cadillac Records
  • 2003, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Brown Sugar
  • 2005, Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series: Something the Lord Made

Discography[link]

• Black on Both Sides (1999)
• The New Danger (2004)
• True Magic (2006)
• The Ecstatic (2009)
• Yasiin Bey Presents (TBA)^[47]

Collaborations

• Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star (1998) (with Talib Kweli as Black Star)
• Black Star Aretha (2012) (with Talib Kweli as Black Star)^[47]
• Cruel Summer (2012) (with GOOD Music)^[48]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mos Def

• Mos Def / Dante Smith discographies at Discogs.
• Mos Def at Geffen Records.
• Mos Def at MTV
• Mos Def at the Internet Movie Database
• Mos Def at Emmys.com

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (May 2009)

Black Thought
Background information
Birth name	Tariq (Tarik)[1] Trotter
Born	(1971-10-03) October 3, 1971 (age 40)
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1987–present
Labels	DGC/Geffen/MCA Records Def Jam Recordings
Associated acts	The Roots, Money Making Jam Boys, Black Star, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Meek Mill
Website	www.myspace.com/blackthought

Tariq Trotter (born on October 3, 1971), better known as Black Thought, is an American hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots, as well as an occasional actor. Black Thought, who co-founded The Roots with drummer ?uestlove (Ahmir Thompson), is widely lauded for his live performance skills and his complex and politically aware lyrical content.

Early life[link]

Black Thought was born Tariq Trotter and attended the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts and Millersville University. In 1987, Trotter became friends with drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and formed a drummer/MC duo performing on the streets of Philadelphia and at talent shows.^[2] Trotter would subsequently spend some time as one of two MCs in the group The Square Roots: the other one was Malik B., who Tariq met in college.^[3] In high-school, Black Thought converted to the Islamic sect of The Nation of Gods and Earths.^[4]

The Roots[link]

The Square Roots renamed themselves the Roots and released its debut album Organix in 1993, to prepare for a concert in Germany. The Roots signed to DGC and followed up with Do You Want More?!!!??! in 1995. Recorded without any sampling, the album was more popular among alternative music fans than those of hip hop. Around the release of the album, the Roots performed at the Lollapalooza alternative music festival and Montreux Jazz Festival. Illadelph Halflife, the band's 1996 album, became its first album to chart within the top 40 spots on the Billboard 200 because of the successful single "What They Do".^[2] Things Fall Apart followed in 1999, the year the band played at the Woodstock 99 concert.^[5]

In 2000, the Roots won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "You Got Me", with guest performances by Erykah Badu and Eve.^[6] The Roots' album Things Fall Apart was nominated for the Best Rap Album award.^[7] For Jay-Z's acoustic concert for the television program MTV Unplugged, The Roots provided instrumentals.^[8] Succeeding albums were Phrenology (2002), The Tipping Point (2004), Game Theory (2006), Rising Down (2008),How I Got Over (2010) and Undun (2011).

Other work[link]

Films in which Black Thought starred in include Bamboozled (2000), Perfume, Love Rome, and Brooklyn Babylon (both 2001).^[9]

Thought has also made guest performances on several other records including "Pimpas Paradise" by Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Team by Dilated Peoples,^[10] One Day It'll All Make Sense by Common, Reanimation by Linkin Park,^[11] Pick a Bigger Weapon by The Coup, The Rising Tied by Fort Minor and A Ma Zone by Zap Mama.

Black Thought recorded a solo album to be titled Masterpiece Theatre and released in summer 2001,^[9] but the project was scrapped after learning that the album wouldn't count towards The Roots' current contract commitments. Most of the songs demoed wound up on The Roots' Phrenology album. In 2006, he began working on a collaborative project with producer Danger Mouse titled Dangerous Thoughts.^[12] In a June 2008 interview with Brian Kayser of the website HipHopGame, Black Thought spoke of yet another solo project, which will come out on the label Razor and Tie. He stated that there would be the possibility of Questlove working on production.^[13] In 2008, Peta2.com nominated Black Thought as among the "World's Sexiest Vegetarians".^[14]

In February 2011, Black Thought, along with 10.Deep and his side collective "Money Making Jam Boys", which includes Dice Raw, S.T.S., Truck North, & P.O.R.N., released the mixtape titled The Prestige.^[15]

Discography[link]

• The Talented Mr. Trotter (TBA)

Appearances[link]

• 1995: "Meiso", Meiso, DJ Krush
• 1996: "Da Jawn", Kollage, Bahamadia
• 1997: "Get This Low", The Psycho-Social, Jedi Mind Tricks
• 1997: "Stolen Moments, Pt. 2", One Day It'll All Make Sense, Common
• 1997: "Listen to This", Listen To This, Walkin' Large
• 1997: "The Agenda", "Sou", Inoran
• 1998: "It's About That Time", Soul Survivor, Pete Rock
• 1998: "Live From the Sretch Armstrong Show", Lyricist Lounge Volume One, Various Artists
• 1998: "Super Lyrical", Capital Punishment, Big Pun
• 1998: "Tabou (Roots Remix)", Princesses Nubians, Les Nubians
• 1999: "Burnin' and Lootin'", Chant Down Babylon (Post-Humous Remix), Bob Marley
• 1999: "Respiration (Flying High Remix)", Respiration 12", Black Star
• 2000: "Cold Blooded", Like Water for Chocolate, Common
• 2000: "Hurricane", The Hurricane Soundtrack, Black Thought, Common, Dice Raw, Flo Brown, Jazzyfatnastees and Mos Def
• 2000: "Network", Plain Rap, The Pharcyde
• 2001: "Hard Hitters", Expansion Team, Dilated Peoples
• 2001: "Zen Approach", Zen, DJ Krush
• 2002: "Clap!", Next, Soulive
• 2002: "Guerilla Monsoon Rap", Quality, Talib Kweli
• 2002: "X-Ecutioner Style", Reanimation, Linkin Park
• 2004: "Live From The PJs", Revolutions, The X-Ecutioners
• 2005: "Appreciate", Love and Life, LaToya London
• 2005: "Flutlicht", Sinnflut, Curse
• 2005: "Pimpa's Paradise", Welcome to Jamrock, Damian Marley
• 2005: "Right Now", The Rising Tied, Fort Minor
• 2006: "Love Movin'", The Shining, J Dilla
• 2006: "My Favorite Mutiny", Pick A Bigger Weapon, The Coup
• 2006: "Yes, Yes Y'all",Timeless, Sérgio Mendes
• 2007: "Clean Up", Deep Hearted, Strong Arm Steady
• 2008: "Give It Up", Thee Adventures Of A B-Boy D-Boy, Muja Messiah
• 2008: "Hold Tight", The Million Dollar Backpack, Skillz
• 2008: "Cause I'm Black", Super Gangster (Extraordinary Gentleman), Styles P
• 2009: "Hot Shyt", "Back to the Feature", Wale
• 2009: "Live Forever", Velvet Ballads, Cradle Orchestra
• 2009: "Philly Boy", Rádio do Canibal, BK-One
• 2009: "Reality TV", Jay Stay Paid, J Dilla
• 2009: "Slow Down", Chiddy Bang
• 2010: "Philadelphia Born and Raised", Meek Mill
• 2010: "Ill Street Blues", More Demand 2, STS
• 2010: "In tha Park", Apollo Kids, Ghostface Killah
• 2010: "Philly Sh*t Remix, Young Chris, Meek Mill & Eve
• 2011: "The Masters of Our Fates", Raekwon
• 2011: "Too Long" The Greatest Story Never Told Saigon (rapper)
• 2011: "Million Star Motel", Pennies In A Jar, Nikki Jean
• 2011: "Riot" LA Riot, Thurz
• 2011: "God Knows Why", Soul is Heavy, Nneka
• 2011: "Mathematics", The Welcome Mat, OCD: Moosh & Twist
• 2012: "Living in Bunkers", Drinking From the Sun, Hilltop Hoods

Filmography[link]

• Bamboozled (2000)
• Brooklyn Babylon (2001)
• Perfume (2001)
• Brown Sugar (2002)
• Love Rome (2004)
• Explicit IIIs (2008)
• In NorthWood (2009)
• Night Catches Us (2010)
• Yelling to the Sky (2011)^[16]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Black Thought on Myspace
• Black Thought at the Internet Movie Database
• TheRoots.com - Official website of The Roots
• Black Thought discography