Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, r/min, or r·min⁻¹) is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis. It is used as a measure of rotational speed of a mechanical component.

Standards organizations generally recommend the symbol r/min, which is more consistent with the general use of unit symbols. This is not enforced as an international standard. In French for example, tr/mn (tours par minute) is commonly used, and the German equivalent reads U/min (Umdrehungen pro Minute).

International System of Units[link]

According to the International System of Units (SI), rpm is not a unit. This is because Revolutions is a semantic annotation rather than a unit. The annotation is instead done in the subscript of the formula sign if needed. Because of the measured physical quantity, the formula sign has to be f for (rotational) frequency and ω or Ω for angular velocity. The corresponding basic SI unit is s⁻¹ or Hz. When measuring angular speed, rad·s⁻¹ can also be used as unit.

Even though angular velocity, angular frequency and hertz all have the dimensions of 1/s, angular velocity and angular frequency are not expressed in hertz, but rather in an appropriate angular unit such as radians per second. Thus a disc rotating at 60 revolutions per minute (rpm) is said to be rotating at either 2π rad/s or 1 Hz, where the former measures the angular velocity and latter reflects the number of complete revolutions per second. The conversion between a frequency f measured in hertz and an angular velocity ω measured in radians per second are:

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \omega = 2 \pi f\,\,\text{and}\,\,f = \frac {\omega} {2 \pi}\text{.}\,\!

Examples[link]

• On many kinds of disc recording media, the rotational speed of the medium under the read head is a standard given in rpm. Gramophone (phonograph) records, for example, typically rotate steadily at 16 ²⁄₃, 33 ¹⁄₃, 45 or 78 rpm (⁵⁄₁₈, ⁵⁄₉, ³⁄₄, or 1.3 Hz respectively).
• Modern ultrasonic dental drills can rotate at up to 800,000 rpm (13.3 kHz).
• The "second" hand of a conventional analogue clock rotates at 1 rpm.
• Audio CD players read their discs at a precise, constant rate (4.12335 mbit/sec of raw physical data for 1.4112 mbit/sec (172.2KB/s) of usable audio data) and thus must vary the disc's rotational speed from around 480 rpm (actually 8 Hz), when reading at the innermost edge, to 210 rpm (actually 3.5 Hz) at the outer edge.^[1] CD-ROM drives’ maximum rotational speeds are rated in multiples of this figure, even though they do not hold to constant read speeds when reading from most disc formats. A plain figure, e.g. "8x" denotes a continual read speed and variable spin speed up to eight times the original maximum (64Hz, 3840 RPM); one noted as e.g. "32x max" denotes a constant spin speed at thirty-two times the original minimum (112Hz, 6720 RPM) and a variable read speed which may be as low as 14x at the point where a 1x drive would spin at 480 RPM, only reaching a true 32x in the regions which would have required 210 RPM. By holding the RPM constant, a greater maximum read speed can be achieved for the same maximum RPM (an "8x" drive becomes an "18x max"; drives commonly offer 40, 48 or 52x maximum speeds when problems of vibration and discs disintegrating due to centrifugal forces would otherwise limit them to less than 24x / 11000 RPM) when there is no need for it to remain fixed across the whole disc. As more linear space is available per rotation at the outer edges, and late-1970s technology imposed quite coarse limits on the minimum size of the physical data structures, keeping a constant RPM would have been wasteful of disc area and demanded larger discs, lower audio quality, shorter running time, or a combination of all three. Despite the additional complexity of continually adjusting the rotational speed, it is a worthwhile tradeoff to improve data density.
• DVD players also usually read discs at a constant linear rate. The disc's rotational speed varies from 1530 rpm (actually 25.5 Hz), when reading at the innermost edge, and 630 rpm (actually 10.5 Hz) at the outer edge.^[1] PC DVD drives’ speeds are, like CD drives, usually given in multiples of this figure, either as an overall multiplier (e.g. in slower 4x drives which may spin at up to 6120 RPM when reading data near the spindle), or a maximum based on peak read speed (e.g. "16x max" for a model that spins up to 10080 RPM across the whole disc). The overall multipliers are lower than for CDs, as "single speed" DVD already spins approximately 3x faster than CD but is subject to similar limits on maximum RPM. The remainder of the difference in data transfer speed (1385 vs 150 KB/sec for data (DVD has no mode equivalent to CDDA), or a little more than 9x) comes from increased linear storage density and a slight improvement in error-correction efficiency. The same limits are also seen in Blu-Ray drives and media, where the basic spin rate is higher still (similar to 4x CD) and the fastest typical PC drives operate at "12x max" (5x minimum) BD speed; almost 52 MB/sec, over 350x basic CDROM speed, but still no higher physical spin speed than the 10~12,000 RPM of 48~52x Max CDROMs.
• A washing machine's drum may rotate at 500 to 2000 rpm (8–33 Hz) during the spin cycles.
• A power generation turbine (with a 2 pole alternator) rotates at 3000 rpm (50 Hz) or 3600 rpm (60 Hz), depending on country – see AC power plugs and sockets.
• Modern Automobile engines are typically operated around 2000–3000 rpm (33–50 Hz) when cruising, with a minimum (idle) speed around 750–900 rpm (12.5–15 Hz), and an upper limit anywhere from 4500 to 10,000 rpm (75–166 Hz).
• A piston aircraft engine typically rotates at a rate between 2000 and 3000 rpm (30–50 Hz).
• Computers’ hard drives typically rotate at 5400 or 7200 rpm (90 or 120 Hz), the most common speeds for the ATA or SATA-based drives in consumer models. High-performance drives (used in fileservers and enthusiast gaming PCs) rotate at 10,000 or 15,000 rpm (160 or 250 Hz), usually with higher-level SATA, SCSI or Fibre Channel interfaces and smaller platters to allow these higher speeds, the reduction in storage capacity and ultimate outer-edge speed paying off in much quicker access time and average transfer speed thanks to the high spin rate. Until recently, lower end and "eco" laptop drives could be found with 4200 or even 3600 RPM spindle speeds (70 and 60 Hz) but these have fallen out of favour due to their lower performance, improvements in energy efficiency amongst faster models, and the takeup of SSDs for use in slimline and "ultra portable" machines. Similar to CD and DVD media, the amount of data that can be stored or read for each turn of the disc is greater at the outer edge than near the spindle; however, hard drives keep a constant RPM, so the effective data rate is faster at the edge (conventionally, the "start" of the disc, opposite to CD/DVD).
• Floppy disc drives typically ran at a constant 300 or occasionally 360 RPM (a relatively slow 5 or 6 Hz) with a constant per-revolution data density, which was simple and inexpensive to implement, though inefficient. Some designs such as those used with older Apple computers (Lisa, early Macintosh, later II's) were more complex and used variable RPM and per-track storage density (at a constant read/record rate) to store more data per disc; for example, between 394 RPM (with 12 sectors/track) and 590 RPM (8 sectors) with the Mac's 800 KB double-density drive at a constant 39.4 KB/sec (max) – vs 300 RPM, 720 KB and 23 KB/sec (max) for double-density drives in other machines. ^[2]
• The engine of a Formula One racing car can reach 18,000 rpm (300 Hz) under some circumstances.^[3] The exhaust note of the car has a much higher pitch, because each of the cylinders of a four-stroke engine fires once for every two revolutions of the crankshaft. Thus an eight-cylinder engine turning 300 times per second will have an exhaust note of 1200Hz.
• A Zippe-type centrifuge for enriching uranium spins at 90,000 rpm (1,500 Hz) or faster.^[4]
• Gas turbine engines rotate at tens of thousands of rpm. JetCat model aircraft turbines are capable of over 100,000 rpm (1,700 Hz) with the fastest reaching 165,000 rpm (2,750 Hz).^[5]
• An electromechanical battery (EMB) works at 60,000–200,000 rpm (1–3 kHz) range using a passively magnetic levitated flywheel in vacuum.^[6] The choice of the flywheel material is not the most dense, but the one that pulverises the most safely, at surface speeds about 7 times the speed of sound.
• A turbocharger can reach 290,000 rpm (4,800 Hz), while 80,000–200,000 rpm (1–3 kHz) is common.

See also[link]

• Orders of magnitude (angular velocity)
• Constant linear velocity, or CLV, used when referring to the speed of audio CDs
• Constant angular velocity, or CAV, used when referring to the speed of gramophone (phonograph) records
• Turn (geometry)

References[link]

Reflection Eternal is a hip hop duo composed of emcee Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek. They released their first album, Train of Thought, in 2000. They have since released a mixtape, The RE: Union, in late December 2009, and their second album Revolutions Per Minute was released May 18, 2010.

History[link]

The duo of Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek met in Tek's native Cincinnati, Ohio, following the release of the Hi-Tek/Mood collaboration "Hustle on the Side". Kweli and Hi-Tek made their first official collaboration in 1997 on Mood's debut album, Doom, on the track "Industry Lies". That same year, the two formed as Reflection Eternal, and signed to upstart underground hip hop label Rawkus Records. The tracks from their debut single, "Fortified Live" b/w "2000 Seasons", were included on the Rawkus Records compilation Soundbombing in October 1997. In 1998, Kweli and his high school friend, fellow Rawkus Records artist Mos Def, formed the duo Black Star, and released their first, and only album, Black Star, to rave reviews. Hi-Tek provided production for a number of songs on the album, including the singles "Definition" and "Respiration". The album put the three at the forefront of an underground hip hop scene that appeared at the time to be flagging against the influence of the "Jiggy" era of hip-hop, and was followed by a number of acclaimed collaborations and albums. Kweli and Hi-Tek reconnected in 2000 for the release of their debut album, Train of Thought. Though highly acclaimed, the release did not receive a significant amount of commercial attention, despite the success of the rap hits "Move Somethin'" and "The Blast".

Following the Train of Thought album, the duo split for solo projects, beginning with Hi-Tek's Hi-Teknology, released in 2001, on which Kweli appeared. The album didn't receive as much attention or as many sales as Train of Thought, though the single "Round & Round" became a crossover hit in 2002. Kweli released his first solo album, Quality, in late 2002. In a 2002 interview he also stated that another Reflection Eternal and Black Star album would be released.^[1] Hi-Tek was not involved with the project's production, instead featuring beats from artists like Kanye West, DJ Scratch, DJ Quik, Ayatollah and J Dilla. The Kanye West-produced single "Get By" became Kweli's biggest success, charting on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2003. Kweli's second solo album, 2004's The Beautiful Struggle, saw the duo working together once again, with three tracks produced by Hi-Tek. Kweli released his next album, Ear Drum, in 2007, featuring production from Tek; Hi-Tek released the follow-up to his debut, Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip, in 2006 and his third album, Hi-Teknology 3: The Underground, in 2007, both on Babygrande Records and both featuring appearances by Kweli.

The duo announced that another Reflection Eternal album was in the works in 2008. They named their second album Revolutions Per Minute.^[2][3][4] They played a live reunion gig in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 20, 2009.^[5] In the same year Bootsy Collins collaborated with Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek on the track "Internet Connection".^[6] also a track "Back Again" has been released along with video. They also collaborated with J. Cole, Mos Def, and Jay Electronica on the track "Just Begun"[1]. These 3 songs were released in a mixtape on January 1, 2010 called The Re:Union which received positive fanbase feedback. Their second album Revolutions Per Minute was released on May 18, 2010 with similar praise as their debut album. It spawned 3 singles: "In This World", "Strangers (Paranoid)" featuring former UGK member Bun B, and Midnight Hour featuring Atlantic recording artist Estelle.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Appearances as Reflection Eternal[link]

• "Fortified Live" (appears on the Soundbombing compilation, 1997)
• "2000 Seasons" (also appears on the Soundbombing compilation, 1997)
• "The Manifesto" (appears on Lyricist Lounge, Volume One compilation, 1998)
• "Chaos" (appears on the Soundbombing 2 compilation, 1999)
• "On Mission" (also appears on the Soundbombing 2 compilation, 1999)
• "The Express" (from "The Express" single, 2000)
• "Train of Thought" (from "The Blast" single, 2000)
• "Down for the Count (Solo Version)" (from "The Blast" single, 2000)
• "The Human Element" (from the Unbound Project, Volume 1 compilation, 2000)
• "Sharp Shooters" (from the Lyricist Lounge 2 compilation, 2000)
• "Bridge to 'Bama (Remix)" (from the Soulive single "Bridge to 'Bama", 2001)
• "Let Me See (Remix)" (by Morcheeba)

Other Collaborations[link]

• "Industry Lies" (from the Mood album Doom, 1997)
• Songs from the Mos Def & Talib Kweli Black Star album, 1998
• "Halfway" (from the Brixx album Everything Happens For A Reason), 1999
• "Transmorgify" & "Empty Pages" (from the compilation Mission Control Presents, 2000; both songs are by Mood)
• Songs from the Hi-Tek album Hi-Teknology, 2001
• Songs from the Talib Kweli album The Beautiful Struggle, 2004
• Songs from the Hi-Tek album Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip, 2006
• Songs from the Talib Kweli album Eardrum, 2006
• Songs from the Rawkus Records album Soundbombing II, 1999

References[link]

Timothy Elpadaro Thedford (born September 19, 1976), better known by his stage name Jay Electronica, is an American hip hop recording artist and record producer, currently based in London, United Kingdom.^[2] Jay Electronica first gained significant attention after the release of the musical composition Act I: Eternal Sunshine (the pledge), made available on a MySpace page in 2007. It is fifteen continuous minutes of music, without drums, built from Jon Brion's soundtrack to the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In late 2009 he released two songs, both produced by Just Blaze, "Exhibit A (Transformations)" and "Exhibit C" the latter of which won a Sucker Free Summit Award for Instant Classic. On November 12, 2010, it was announced Jay Electronica had become an official member of Jay-Z's Roc Nation record label.^[3]

Biography[link]

1976-2006: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Thedford was born on September 19, 1976, in the Magnolia Projects of New Orleans, a place where the crime rate was infamous throughout the country before 2005, when the projects were flooded during Hurricane Katrina. Thedford began rapping after hearing his nephew Akeem Pryor rhyme. By the age of 19 Jay Electronica left New Orleans to pursue his musical career. Living a mostly nomadic lifestyle, he found refuge in cities such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, Detroit, New York, and briefly in Atlanta. From club to club, and stage to stage, Electronica had gotten booed off and denied because of his Southern accent and slang. "In my earlier years from when I first left home, I was embarrassed from being from the South," Thedford stated. "Not in general, but as a rapper because all of the negative things that people in the States put on the South."^[4] Electronica’s career really took form in the city of Detroit when he linked up with Detroit native Johnnie Last, a friend he had spent a lot of time with at Darp Studios in Atlanta, GA. Detroit is where Electronica met producer/engineer Mike "Chav" Chavarria, who introduced him to both J. Dilla and Mr. Porter, and who is now a regular collaborator.^[5][6] Detroit, where he recorded his Style Wars-era music with several J. Dilla beats, meeting the producer subsequently to ask for permission to use the recordings as a demo.

[edit] 2007-2010: Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) and signing with Roc Nation

Jay Electronica first gained significant attention through Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), made available on a MySpace page in 2007. It is nine continuous minutes of music, without drums, built from Jon Brion's soundtrack to the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. There are five segments or movements marked by changes in music and mood, raps by Electronica, and occasional snippets of sampled dialogue including scenes from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The first segment is a spoken word piece by Just Blaze and Erykah Badu describing Electronica over piano music.

The nature of the piece of music, along with the nature of its appearance, led to a slow build-up of interest in Electronica as an enigmatic figure. Songs circulating online as the Style Wars EP gained wider circulation, and other songs, such as the dream-inspired "Dimethyltryptamine", soon appeared. In January 2008, Giles Peterson's 90-minute Gilles Peterson Worldwide was devoted to the rapper.^[7] Hiphopdx.com in 2008 called him "arguably...the most talked about new emcee last year ... at times...more like a myth or urban legend than an actual rapper",^[8] and URB ran a cover story on the artist under the banner "Jay Electronica: A Spotless Mind :: An MC’s mystery revealed", which referred to his wanderings as his being "like some sort of hip-hop Jack Kerouac".^[5]

Jeff Weiss' piece for the L.A. Weekly, "Jay Electronica: Much Better Than His Name Would Suggest", acknowledged that the rapper could be fairly described as "one of the most buzzed about rappers of 2008", but attempted to temper the hype somewhat, describing Act 1... as "ambitious, wildly original, if not slightly pretentious", while endorsing only to an extent the comparisons URB had made (referencing an "abstract rhyming style") to rappers like Nas and Pharoahe Monch.^[9][10]

[edit] 2010-present: Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn)

Jay Electronica has yet to release a full-length album, but he has released two official singles to date, "Exhibit A" and "Exhibit C", which won a Sucker Free Summit Award for Instant Classic. His music so far has been made available through the internet, either through being leaked to what URB magazine describes as "obscure web forums", or through an appearing and disappearing Myspace page (currently two seem to be in existence, at /jayelect and at /jayelectronica). Erykah Badu has questioned whether he ever will release, in her words, "actual albums".^[5] From New Orleans, LA he has lived in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Denver, and Detroit, where he recorded his Style Wars-era music with several J Dilla beats, meeting the producer subsequently to ask for permission to use the recordings as a demo. Jay met producer/engineer Mike "Chav" Chavarria in Detroit, the latter introducing him to both J Dilla and Mr. Porter, and who is now a regular collaborator.^[5][11]

According to URB, Act II: Patents of Nobility will feature Nas, and will be the second of a putative trilogy. URB also reported that digital EPs with both Guilty Simpson and producer 9th Wonder were planned. According to a Filter TV interview,^[12] Jay Electronica has partnered with Decon to release his debut project. It is being described as a multi-media release and footage from the project which was partially shot in Nepal and Dubai has begun to surface online. The first clip to leak is titled "Dear Moleskine" and can be found on YouTube, the track was produced by Just Blaze and the clip was directed by Jason Goldwatch from Decon. In June 2009, Decon and Jay's "The Dogon Society" released "Exhibit A" digitally. "Exhibit C" was released on iTunes December 16, 2009 and quickly shot to the top 10 of the iTunes Hip-Hop charts. The following week it was chosen by Hot 97's Dj Enuff as the Heavy Hitter pick of the week.

Jay Electronica appeared at the 2010 Bonnaroo Music Festival. Jay Electronica continued his scattered release practice, releasing "A Million In The Morning" on April 4, 2010. The song features a weary Electronica trying to keep himself awake to escape his nightmares.^[13] On April 30, Jay Electronica debuted "The Ghost of Christopher Wallace" via his Twitter. The song features P Diddy and is produced by London beatsmith Quincey Tones, who is known for producing such acts as Young Jeezy and Royce da 5'9".

On November 12, 2010, Jay-Z announced that Jay Electronica was officially the newest member of his own 'Roc Nation' record label/management company, which boasts such acts as J. Cole, and Willow Smith. Before signing to Roc Nation in 2010, Jay Electronica was a prospective signee of Bad Boy Records, a label owned by producer/rapper/entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs.^[14]

In late 2010, he and Lucy Liu were featured on The Bullitts' track "Close Your Eyes". It was BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe's 'record of the week' and will feature on The Bullitts upcoming album set for release in 2011. Then in July 2011, he produced and was featured on the track "Run & Hide", which will be on the same album.

In July 2011, Jay Electronica posted via his twitter that his debut album, "Act II: Patents Of Nobility (the turn)," was complete.^[15] On October 10, 2011, Jay Electronica released the song Call Of Duty, featuring Prodigy from Mobb Deep. He stated that this single would not be on his album. On March 8th, 2012, Jay Electronica tweeted that the album is complete and will be turned in to Roc Nation ^[16]

Personal life[link]

Jay Electronica and Erykah Badu have one child together, Mars Merkaba Thedford, born on February 1, 2009.^[17] He is a member of the Five Percent Nation.^[18]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn) (TBA)
• Act III: The Last Will & Testament Of Timothy Elpadaro Thedford (The Prestige) (TBA)

EPs[link]

• Style Wars EP (2007)

Mixtapes[link]

• Act I: Eternal Sunshine (the pledge) (2007)

Singles[link]

As lead artist[link]

As featured artist[link]

Guest appearances[link]

Production discography[link]

2008[link]

[edit] Nas - Untitled

• 01. "Queens Get the Money"
  • Sample Credit: John Powell - "I Am Sam (Theme)"

External links[link]

• :::::::Magnetik7::::::: (come on in, the water's fine.) - Official web site (inactive since 2005)^[19][20][21]
• Jay Electronica Official News Source
• Jay Electronica Fan Website(domain expired)
• Jay Electronica (JayElectronica) on Twitter
• URB Jay Electronica cover (left) (.gif)
• Giles Peterson Worldwide (.mp3, 80MB) - Lengthy interview and music
• Jay Electronica video interview on redbullmusicacademy.com
• Just Blaze, Jay Electronica, & Mike "Chav" Chavarria - An Interview with Jay, Chav, & Just Blaze
• Exclaim! magazine interview with Jay Electronica-Exclaim!

Sources[link]

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