name	MC Serch
background	solo_singer
birth name	Michael Berrin
alias	T Bone Lemke
born	May 06, 1967
genre	Hip hop
years active	1985–present
label	Def Jam, Psycho+Logical-Records
associated acts	3rd Bass, Non Phixion, Nas
notable instruments	}}

MC Serch (born Michael Berrin on May 6, 1967 ) is a Jewish-American hip hop MC and former member of 3rd Bass.

Biography

He is credited with creating the slang term "the Gas Face". He grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, attending Far Rockaway High School., and graduated from Music & Art High School.

After recording three albums with 3rd Bass—''The Cactus Album'' (1989), ''Cactus Revisited'' (1990), and ''Derelicts of Dialect'' (1991)—Serch launched a solo career with ''Return of the Product'' (1992, Def Jam). The album featured two hit singles: "Here It Comes" (which hit #1 on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks chart); and "Back to the Grill" featuring Chubb Rock, Red Hot Lover Tone and Nas. Serch was the executive producer of Nas’ ''Illmatic'', one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1990s. He also helped to cultivate the rapper O.C. after hearing him on the Organized Konfusion song "Fudge Pudge", helping him secure a record contract with Wild Pitch Records. In 1995 Serch also mentored the newly formed Non Phixion.

Since retiring from performing, Serch has run a promotions company (Serchlite Music). He appeared in Spike Lee's ''Bamboozled'' (2000) as a member of the fictitious hip-hop group Mau Maus (played by other real-life hip-hop performers such as Mos Def, Charli Baltimore and Canibus). His character was a white revolutionary who was supposed to be 1/16th African-American. From 2003 he hosted ''Serch In The AM'' on Detroit Urban Radio Station FM 98 WJLB; he was the first Jewish DJ at that station. MC Serch was dismissed from WJLB in March 2006, reportedly due to a dispute over a Super Bowl weekend party at the club "Motor City Live." Serch also hosted the VH1 reality series ''Ego Trip's The (White) Rapper Show'', known for his catch phrase: "Woop-WOOP!", which ended in March 2007. A follow-up show, ''ego trip's Miss Rap Supreme'', debuted in 2008. Serch has since returned to the radio airwaves in Detroit on the urban station Hot 102.7

Discography

Solo

''Return of the Product'' (1992, Def Jam)

with 3rd Bass

''The Cactus Album'' (1989, Platinum)

''Cactus Revisited'' (1990)

''Derelicts of Dialect'' (1991, Gold)

Guest appearances

DJ Tomekk - "Fuck You"

Gravediggaz - "Defective Trip" (w/Biz Markie)

Kaptain Nemo - The Legend of Kaptain Nemo - Official Mixtape - "For the Love of Hip-Hop" (w/PJ Sumroc)

Hot Karl - "Let's Talk"

Krohme - "Around Here"

Non Phixion - "5 Boros" (w/D.V. Alias Khrist)

Sway & King Tech - "Wake Up Show Anthem" (w/Nas, Ras Kass, Saafir & others)

"2 Hits & Pass" (w/Afu-Ra, Agallah, Craig G, Buckshot, and others)

"Blak Is Blak" (As "1/16th Blak" w/Mos Def, Canibus, Charli Baltimore, Mums, DJ Scratch, and Gano Grills)

Kurious - "Benneton" (w/ MF DOOM) (2009, Amalgam Digital)

Rucka Rucka Ali - "I Can Do Whatever, I'm White"

References

External links

MC Serch's Myspace page

Serchlite Music

MC Serch Interview

Category:1971 births Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American rappers Category:Far Rockaway High School alumni Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Category:Jewish rappers Category:Living people Category:People from Far Rockaway, Queens

de:MC Serch es:MC Serch no:MC Serch

Name	MF DOOM
Background	solo_singer
Alias	DOOM, King Geedorah, Metal Face, Metal Fingers, Viktor Vaughn, Zev Love X
Born	January 09, 1971 London, United Kingdom
Born as	Daniel Dumile
Origin	Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Genre	East Coast hip hop
Instrument	Vocals, sampler, synthesizer, drum machine, Pro Tools
Occupation	Rapper, hip hop producer
Associated acts	Danger Doom, Madlib, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Omer Saar, J Dilla, KMD, Madvillain, MF Grimm, Count Bass D, Talib Kweli, Aesop Rock, Mos Def, RZA
Years active	1988–19931997–present
Label	Elektra (1988–1993)Sub Verse (1997–2003)Fondle 'Em (1997–2001)Metal Face (1997–present) Big Dada (2003–present)Naturesounds (2003–present) Rhymesayers (2003–present)Stones Throw (2004–present)Lex (2005–present)
Website	Official website }}

Daniel Dumile (pronounced ) is a hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career, most notably MF DOOM, where the "MF" stands for Metal Fist, Metal Fingers, or Metal Face. He has appeared in several collaborative projects such as Danger Doom (with Danger Mouse) and Madvillain (with Madlib).

History

Early years with KMD

Dumile was born on January 9, 1971, in London, England, the son of a Trinidadian mother and Zimbabwean father. He then moved with his family to New York and was raised in the city of Long Beach, New York on Long Island.

As Zev Love X, he formed the group KMD in 1988 with his younger brother DJ Subroc and another MC called Rodan. When Rodan left the group, Zev found another MC to replace Rodan named Onyx the Birthstone Kid. A&R; rep Dante Ross learned of KMD through the hip hop group 3rd Bass, and signed the group to Elektra Records.

Dumile and KMD's recorded debut came on 3rd Bass's song "The Gas Face" from ''The Cactus Album'', followed in 1991 with KMD's album ''Mr. Hood'', which became a minor hit through its singles "Peachfuzz", "Who Me?" and heavy video play on cable TV's ''Yo! MTV Raps'' and ''Rap City''.

Subroc was struck and killed by a car in 1993 while attempting to cross a Long Island expressway before the release of a second KMD album, titled ''Black Bastards''. The group was subsequently dropped from Elektra Records that same week. Before the release of the album, it was shelved due to controversy over its cover art, which featured a cartoon of a stereotypical pickaninny or sambo character being hanged from the gallows.

With the loss of his brother, Dumile retreated from the hip hop scene from 1994 to 1997. He testifies to disillusionment and depression, living "damn near homeless, walking the streets of Manhattan, sleeping on benches." In the late 1990s, he left New York City and settled in Atlanta. According to interviews with Dumile, he was also "recovering from his wounds" and swearing revenge "against the industry that so badly deformed him." ''Black Bastards'' had become bootlegged at the time, leading to Doom's rise in the underground hip hop scene.

Birth of MF Doom

In 1997, Dumile began freestyling incognito at open-mic events at the Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan, obscuring his face by putting a stocking over his head. He meanwhile had taken on a new identity, MF Doom, patterned after and wearing a mask similar to that of Marvel Comics super-villain Doctor Doom, who is depicted rapping on the cover of the 1999 album ''Operation: Doomsday''. He wears this mask while performing and isn't photographed without it, except for very short glimpses in videos such as Viktor Vaughn's "Mr. Clean", "?", and in earlier photos with KMD. MF Doom's mask has undergone at least one design revision since its adoption (it is now an altered version of the mask worn by the character Maximus Decimus Meridius in the film ''Gladiator'').

Early career

Dumile released three singles on "Bobbito" García's Fondle 'Em Records, "Dead Bent", and "Greenbacks" (1997), and "The M.I.C." (1998). In 1999 Fondle 'Em released MF Doom's first full-length LP, ''Operation: Doomsday,'' which included these singles and their b-sides, and additional tracks. Dumile had used the spelling variant "M.F. DOOM" for the singles releases, but thereafter changed this to "MF DOOM".

Among the collaborators on these tracks were fellow members of the Monsta Island Czars collective (The M.I.C.), for which each artist took on the persona of a monster from the Godzilla mythos. Dumile went by the alias "King Ghidorah" (a three-headed golden dragon "space monster"), and some of his appearances on the LP are as, and are credited to this persona, instead of that of MF Doom. Dumile would revisit this character later under various name-spellings.

Guest appearances, production, and instrumental work

In the years intervening before his next full-length solo release, and continually since, Dumile has appeared on several tracks on other artists' LPs and remixes, contributed one-off tracks to compilations, and done various guest production work.

In 2002, he appeared on the Sound-Ink's Colapsus collection,on a very hard to find track titled "Monday Nite at Fluid" featuring Kurious with production by King Honey, who also produced some tracks for Dumile's album ''Vaudeville Villain''. Doom also made an appearance in "November Has Come", a track on Gorillaz's 2005 album ''Demon Days'', which reached #6 on the Billboard 200.

With few exceptions Dumile produces the instrumentation tracks for his solo releases.

Beginning in 2001, under the "Metal Fingers" moniker, Dumile began releasing his ''Special Herbs'' instrumentals series. Many of these beats can be heard as the instrumentation tracks throughout his body of work. A separate website catalogs for which tracks each instrumental has been used.

Ongoing career

In 2003, Dumile released the King Geedorah album ''Take Me to Your Leader''. Geedorah is credited as producer, but only appears as an MC on four tracks. The majority of vocal tracks feature guest MCs, and the album features several instrumental montages of sampled vocals from old movies and TV shows—a technique employed on most of Dumile's albums. Both ''Venomous Villain'' and ''Take Me to Your Leader'' feature appearances by MF Doom.

Also in 2003, Dumile released the LP ''Vaudeville Villain'' under the moniker Viktor Vaughn (another play on Doctor Doom, whose "real name" is ''Victor von'' Doom). In 2004 he released a follow-up LP, ''Venomous Villain'' (also called ''VV2'').

And, in 2004, the second MF Doom album ''MM.. Food'' was released by the Minnesota-based label Rhymesayers Entertainment.

Mainstream recognition

Doom's first commercial breakthrough came in 2004, with the album ''Madvillainy'', created with producer Madlib under the group name Madvillain. Released by Stones Throw Records, the album was a critical and commercial success. MF Doom was seen by mainstream audiences for the first time as Madvillain received publicity and acclaim in publications such as ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Spin''. A video for "All Caps" and a four-date U.S. tour followed the release of ''Madvillainy''. Additional videos for "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Accordion", both directed by Andrew Gura, were released on the DVDs ''Stones Throw 101'' and ''Stones Throw 102: In Living the True Gods'', respectively.

Though still an independent artist, MF Doom took a bigger step towards the mainstream in 2005 with ''The Mouse and the Mask'', a collaboration with producer DJ Danger Mouse under the group name Danger Doom. The album, released on October 11, 2005 by Epitaph, was done in collaboration with Cartoon Network's ''Adult Swim'' and featured voice-actors and characters from its programs (mostly Aqua Teen Hunger Force). Danger Doom reached #41 on the Billboard 200. In 2006 Doom hosted the Adult Swim Christmas special and he could be seen in between shows, usually talking about what was up next, and making jokes.

2006–2009

MF Doom produced tracks for both of Ghostface Killah's 2006 albums ''Fishscale'' and ''More Fish'', and the two are currently at work on a collaboration album titled ''Swift & Changeable''. So far only one track has been released from the album, "Angels", which appeared on a ''Nature Sounds'' compilation in late 2006, and later re-released in a different fashion on Doom's 2009 album ''Born Like This''. Doom has also revealed plans for a second Madvillain album with producer Madlib, with one song, "Monkey Suite", first appearing on the Adult Swim/Stones Throw Records album ''Chrome Children'', later it appeared on ''Madvillainy 2 - The Madlib Remix''. Other potential projects mentioned by Doom include new albums from Danger Doom, KMD, as well as further albums under both his Viktor Vaughn and King Geedorah aliases. However, many such Doom projects have been rumored in recent years without materializing.

Despite no new Doom releases in 2006, Kidrobot and Stones Throw released an 8" tall Madvillain toy available to coincide with the release of the ''Chrome Children'' CD/DVD (hosted by Peanut Butter Wolf) which featured a DVD performance of Madvillain and several other Stones Throw artists. Doom also continued to work with ''Adult Swim'' doing voice-over work as Sherman the Giraffe on ''Perfect Hair Forever'', being the voice for ''The Boondocks'' ads and previews and hosting their Christmas Eve 2006 programming.

In late January 2009, Lex records confirmed Doom's new album title to be ''Born Like This'', and that the "MF" would be dropped from his name, now just "DOOM". The album was released worldwide on March 24, 2009. As a teaser, the track "Ballskin" was posted on Doom's Myspace page on January 13, 2009. Snippets of the entire album were made available for streaming on Doom's Myspace on the album's release date. The title for the album was inspired by the poem "Dinosauria, We" by 1970s and 1980s poet Charles Bukowski. Doom samples a performance of the poem by Bukowski on the track "Cellz". Previously, Doom used a Bukowski sample for a vocal interlude on 2004's "All Outta Ale. "Thom Yorke of Radiohead remixed the track "Gazillion Ear" which is available as an iTunes-only bonus track. June 26, 2009 Kurious released ''II'' which featured Doom on the song "Benetton".

Upcoming projects

On May 26, 2010, the second single for the next Madvillain album "Paper Mill" was released through Adult Swim. ''Expektoration'', a live Doom album, was released on September 14, 2010 through Gold Dust Media. In mid 2010, Doom released the mix-tape "DOOM!", a collection of greatest hits, B-sides and rareties, including the theme for the video game ''Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars'' featuring Ghostface Killah, and Biochemical Equation, featuring the RZA.

On July 27, 2011 Doom and Ghostface Killah released the track "Victory Laps" from their long awaited collaboration project ''Swift & Changeable'' on the Nature Sounds label.

DOOM has been chosen by Portishead to perform at the ATP I'll Be Your Mirror festival that they will curate in July 2011 at London's Alexandra Palace.

Live show controversy

Dumile has become infamous for allegedly sending imposters posing as himself to his live shows. Fans attribute this to his supervillain persona. Doom has countered such accusations by claiming that he lost weight and thus looked different.

Discography

1991: ''Mr. Hood'' (as Zev Love X with KMD)

1993: ''Black Bastards'' (as Zev Love X with KMD)

1999: ''Operation: Doomsday''

2000: ''MF EP'' (with MF Grimm)

2003: ''Escape from Monsta Island!'' (as King Geedorah with Monsta Island Czars)

2003: ''Take Me to Your Leader'' (as King Geedorah)

2003: ''Vaudeville Villain'' (as Viktor Vaughn)

2004: ''Madvillainy'' (with Madvillain)

2004: ''Venomous Villain'' (as Viktor Vaughn)

2004: ''Mm.. Food''

2005: ''The Mouse and the Mask'' (with DangerDoom)

2006: ''Occult Hymn'' (with DangerDoom)

2009: ''Born Like This'' (as DOOM)

References

External links

Category:1971 births Category:African American rappers Category:American voice actors Category:American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Category:People from London Category:British people of Zimbabwean descent Category:British people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Category:Rhymesayers Entertainment Category:Rappers from Long Island Category:Members of the Nation of Gods and Earths Category:American hip hop record producers Category:English rappers Category:British rappers Category:British expatriates in the United States Category:Underground rappers Category:Living people Category:Rapping Category:Underground hip hop

da:MF DOOM de:Daniel Dumile es:MF DOOM fr:MF DOOM it:Daniel Dumile nl:Daniel Dumile no:Daniel Dumile pl:Daniel Dumile pt:MF Doom fi:MF Doom sv:Daniel Dumile tr:MF Doom

name	Chubb Rock
background	solo_singer
birth date	May 28, 1968
origin	Brooklyn, New York
genre	East Coast hip hop
years active	1988–present
label	Hyztory RecordsSelect RecordsChampion Records
height	6 ft 4 in (1.9 m)
notable instruments	}}

Chubb Rock (born Richard Simpson on May 28, 1968 in Jamaica) is a New York-based rapper who released several commercially successful hip hop albums in the early 1990s. A former National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock was a pre-med student who dropped out of Brown University to pursue his musical career.

Biography

Discovered and produced by his first cousin DJ / Producer Howie Tee, Chubb Rock first appeared on the national scene with his 1988 self-titled debut "Chubb Rock" and 1989's "And the winner is..." The latter produced the minor hit "Ya Bad Chubbs" which garnered air play on Yo! MTV Raps during that time.

His 1991 release entitled The One, reached #13 on Billboard's "Top Hip-Hop/R&B;" chart for that year. Three singles from that release, "Treat'em Right", "Just The Two Of Us" and "The Chubbster", made it to #1 on Billboard's "Top Rap Single" chart list for the same year.

The following year saw the release of ''I Gotta Get Mine Yo'', a release which features guest performances from Grand Puba Maxwell, Poke, and Rob Swinga. This release also helped fledgling music producers Trackmasters, on their rise to prominence, as they handled production duties on the recording. Chubb Rock also makes an appearance on MC Serch's 1992 song, "Back to The Grill."

Chubb Rock was a member of the 1995 incarnation of the Crooklyn Dodgers, a rap act that also featured O.C. and Jeru The Damaja. His backup dancers started their own group, A.T.E.E.M, and released their debut ''A Hero Ain't Nothin' But A Sandwich'' in 1992 on Select Records.

In 1996, he appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD, America is Dying Slowly, alongside Wu-Tang Clan, Coolio, and Fat Joe, among others. The CD, meant to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic among African-American men, was heralded as a masterpiece by The Source magazine.

Chubb Rock's work in the 2000s has been limited to only a few songs. He appears on a song for Raptivism Records' "No More Prisons" project with Lil' Dap of Group Home and Ed O.G., and also worked with Mr. Len on the song "Dummy Smacks", where he says, ''"Some people thought I was gone... never that!"'' He made an appearance alongside Vast Aire on the 2007 Zimbabwe Legit album ''House of Stone'' with the song "Wake Up".

In 2008, his single "Treat em right" was ranked number 82 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. Chubb Rock also released Obama We Believe in support of President Barack Obama. His most recent appearance was on the K'naan single "ABC's". He also collaborated with famous Polish rapper eMCeeM on revolutionary track for his album "To dopiero poczatek".

February 2009 Chubb Rock can be heard on his new single "Back In" featuring Wordsmith and Kimia Collins.

His latest album "Bridging The Gap", a collaboration with Wordsmith, was released on July 14, 2009.

Chubb Rock is featured in the new single "Summertime Anthem" by Eric Roberson in which they filmed the video on the streets of Bed-Sty Brooklyn, New York where he credited his wife/manager KeKe Simpson for putting the duo together.

Chubb Rock also has a new EP to be released this September 2011 and a new TV show; let's just say Chubb Rock is back with a pocket full of green.

In 2011 Chubb Rock appeared with his wife and childhood sweetheart of 24 years, Mrs KeKe "Diamond" Simpson on the NBC game show "The Marriage Ref."

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart positions
! Billboard 200	! Top R&B;/Hip Hop Albums
1988	''Chubb Rock''
1989	''And the Winner Is...''
1991
1992	''I Gotta Get Mine Yo''
1997	''The Mind''
2009	''Bridging The Gap (feat. Wordsmith)''

Singles

Year	Song	Chart positions
! Billboard Hot 100	! Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	! Hot Rap Singles	! Hot Dance Music/Club Play
1989	''Ya Bad Chubbs''
	''Stop That Train''
''Robocop''
	''The Chubbster''
''Treat Em Right''
''Just Ask Me To'' (Tevin Campbell featuring Chubb Rock)
	''Just the Two of Us''
''Lost in the Storm''
''The Big Man''
1993	''Yabadabadoo''

References

External links

Discogs: Chubb Rock

Category:1968 births Category:African American rappers Category:American people of Jamaican descent Category:Jamaican hip hop musicians Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Living people Category:Brown University alumni Category:Select Records artists

es:Chubb Rock it:Chubb Rock

name	Mos Def
background	solo_singer
birth name	Dante Terrell Smith
born	December 11, 1973Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
origin	Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Rapper, actor, singer, activist
years active	1994–present
label	Rawkus, Priority, Geffen, Downtown, GOOD Music
associated acts	Soulquarians, Black Star, Talib Kweli, Native Tongues Posse, Kanye West, Gorillaz
notable instruments	}}

Dante Terrell Smith (born December 11, 1973) is an American actor and MC known by the stage name Mos Def (). Mos Def 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 the late 1990s underground hip hop explosion spearheaded by 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.

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 have garnered critical approval for their acting work. Mos Def has also been active in several social and political issues.

Early life

Mos Def grew up during the golden age of hip-hop and has rapped and acted since he was six. He attended Philippa Schuyler Middle School in Bushwick, Brooklyn. He majored in Musical Theater at Talent Unlimited High School of the Performing Arts in Manhattan. He studied at New York University in the Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

He has two younger brothers, Abdul Rahman (a.k.a. "Gold Medal Man"), who is Mos Def's full-time DJ, and Anwar Superstar. He also has a younger sister, Ces "Casey" Smith, and a younger half-brother, Jermone Victor Moulton, who resides in Brooklyn and shares the same mother, Sheron.

Mos Def converted to Islam. 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 fellow Muslim rappers Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip.

Career

Music career

Mos Def began his music career in 1994 in the short-lived group Urban Thermo Dynamics with his younger brother D.c.Q and younger sister Ces. Despite their contract with Payday Records, the group only had two singles, and their debut album ''Manifest Destiny'' was not released until 2004, when it was distributed by Illson Media. In 1996, he emerged as a solo artist and worked with De La Soul and Da Bush Babees, before he released his own first single, "Universal Magnetic", which was a huge underground hit.

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. 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. Mos Def released his solo debut album ''Black on Both Sides'' in 1999, also through Rawkus. Around this time he also contributed to the Scritti Politti album ''Anomie & Bonhomie'' and Rawkus compilations ''Lyricist Lounge'' and ''Soundbombing''.

After the collapse of Rawkus, he signed to Interscope/Geffen Records, which released his second solo album ''The New Danger'' in 2004. ''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 quietly released on December 29, 2006. ''True Magic'' features production from The Neptunes, Rich Harrison and Minnesota, among others. The album was released in a clear-case with no cover art. Neither Geffen nor Mos Def himself promoted the album at all, which is the main reason the album was received under the radar.

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".

MTV reported that this album isn't a full version, but a teaser/promotional debut. A new version of the album would be released spring 2007, with updated songs and cover art. However, on October 17, 2007, Okayplayer reported, through discussions with Mos Def's management, that these rumors were unsubstantiated. The CD was intended to be released without promotion or cover art, as per Mos Def's request. There would be no future re-release.

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. 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.

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. Mos Def appeared on Stephen Marley's 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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

Acting career

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'' and ''Monster's Ball'', 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''. He was nominated for an Image Award and a Teen Choice Award.

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. He also received positive notices as the quirky Left Ear in the blockbuster hit, ''The Italian Job'' in 2003. 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 Comedy Central's ''Chappelle's Show'', and has hosted the award-winning HBO spoken word show, ''Def Poetry'' since its inception. 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''. For his portrayal of Vivien Thomas in HBO's film ''Something the Lord Made'', he was nominated for an Emmy Award 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''.

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. 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. 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''.

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. He also portrayed Chuck Berry in the film ''Cadillac Records'', 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." 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.

In 2011, it was announced he would appear on the Showtime television series ''Dexter''. He will play Brother Sam, an ex-con who has supposedly found religion despite finding himself in violent situations.

Social and political views

By the early 1990s, a brand of socially conscious hip hop that had been pioneered and popularized by Public Enemy, KRS-One, and De La Soul, among others, had been eclipsed in popularity by gangsta rap. Mos Def, as well as Talib Kweli, The Roots, Common, and others, helped socially aware rap music experience something of a comeback in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Mos Def's collaboration with Talib Kweli, ''Black Star'', was released during the aftermath of the deaths of 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. and focused on violence and negativity in hip-hop, in collaboration with other acts that did the same. His music has also made reference to his Islamic faith, and his contention that black artists receive little credit for their role in the birth of rock and roll.

On Mos Def's 2004 album ''The New Danger'', he took his penchant for experimentation to a new level. Most of the songs were more hip-hop flavored stylings of blues and rock, with fewer raps thrown in. This threw off fans who were expecting another full-blown rap album. ''The New Danger'' also featured the controversial song, "The Rape Over," a parody of Jay-Z's ''The Blueprint'' hit "Takeover". His label made him take the song off releases of the album, citing clearance issues with Jay-Z and The Doors, a band which the song samples. The song has garnered controversy over its veiled reference to Israeli-American record executive Lyor Cohen (the "tall Israeli" who then was head of The Island Def Jam Music Group).

Mos Def and Immortal Technique released a similarly controversial song, "Bin Laden" in 2004, which blamed the Reagan Doctrine and President George W. Bush for the September 11, 2001 attacks. A club remix song, featuring Eminem, was released the following year, in 2005.

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.

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. Mos Def also claimed that Al-Qaeda was not responsible for 9/11, and that Al-Qaeda is not responsible for as much terrorism as they are portrayed to be. He appeared on ''Real Time'' again on March 27, 2009, and spoke about the risk of nuclear weapons. Mos Def said that he did not listen to any of Osama Bin Laden's messages because he did not trust the translations.

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

Personal life

In 1996, Def married Maria Yepes. After having two daughters, Chandani and Jauhara Smith, he filed for divorce in 2005. The divorce became final in 2006. Two years later, Def's divorce lawyers Blank Rome sued Def for more than $60,000 in unpaid legal bills.

In October, 2006 Mos Def appeared on ''4Real'', a documentary television series. 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 discover the crime and social problems of the community.

He has recently taken up skateboarding and said he's looking to host a skateboarding event in the United Arab Emirates.

Nominations

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)

* 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

''Black on Both Sides'' (1999)

''The New Danger'' (2004)

''True Magic'' (2006)

''The Ecstatic'' (2009)

Filmography

''Ghosts (Michael Jackson film) ''Where's Marlowe?'' ''Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme'' ''Carmen: A Hip Hopera'' ''Showtime (film) ''The Italian Job (2003 film) ''The Woodsman'' Vivien Thomas ''Lackawanna Blues'' ''Dave Chappelle's Block Party'' ''Prince Among Slaves (film) ''Be Kind Rewind'' ''Next Day Air'' ''I'm Still Here (film) ''Yo Gabba Gabba

Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes
1991	The Hard Way (1991 film)>The Hard Way''	Dead Romeos Gang Member
1997	Ghosts'' ||	Townsperson
1998	|	Wilt Crawley
rowspan="3"	2000	|	Himself
''Bamboozled''	Big Blak Afrika
''Island of the Dead (2000 film)	Island of the Dead''	Robbie J
rowspan="2"	2001	|	Lieutenant Miller
''Monster's Ball''	Ryrus Cooper
rowspan="4"	2002	Showtime'' ||	Lazy Boy
''Civil Brand''	Michael Meadows
''Brown Sugar (2002 film)	Brown Sugar''	Chris 'Cav' Anton Vichon
''My Wife and Kids''
2003	The Italian Job'' ||	Left Ear
rowspan="2"	2004	|	Detective Lucas
''Something the Lord Made''	| Nominated - Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated - Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for TelevisionNominated - Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Mini-Series or Television Movie
rowspan="3"	2005	|	The Bandleader
''The Boondocks (TV series)	The Boondocks (2005-2008)	Voice Of Gangstalicious
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film)	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''	Ford Prefect (character)>Ford Prefect
rowspan="4"	2006	|	Himself
''16 Blocks''	Eddie Bunker
''Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby''	Himself
''Journey to the End of the Night (2006 film)	Journey to the End of the Night''	Wemba
2007	Prince Among Slaves'' ||	Narrator
rowspan="2"	2008	|	Mike
''Cadillac Records''	Chuck Berry
rowspan="2"	2009	|	Eric
''House (TV series)	House''	Lee
2010	I'm Still Here'' ||	Himself
2010	(TV series)	Yo Gabba Gabba!''	Super Mr. Superhero

References

External links

Mos Def / Dante Smith discographies at Discogs.

Mos Def at Geffen Records.

Mos Def Fan Message Board

Category:1973 births Category:Actors from New York City Category:African American actors Category:African American Muslims Category:Converts to Islam Category:African American Muslims Category:African American rappers Category:American vegetarians Category:Living people Category:People from Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Slam poets

ar:موس ديف bg:Мос Деф cs:Mos Def da:Mos Def de:Mos Def es:Mos Def fr:Mos Def fy:Mos Def ko:모스 데프 id:Mos Def it:Mos Def he:מוס דף nl:Mos Def ja:モス・デフ no:Mos Def pl:Mos Def pt:Mos Def sq:Mos Def simple:Mos Def fi:Mos Def sv:Mos Def uk:Мос Деф

Name	Charli Baltimore
|caption	Charli Baltimore (left) with Ashanti
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Tiffany Lane
Alias	Chuck B. More
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Birth date	August 16, 1974
Years active	1995–present
Genre	Hip hop
Label	The Inc. Records (2001 - 2003), Black Wall Street Records , Priority Records / E1 Music (2010 - Present)
Associated acts	Ja Rule, Cam'ron }}

Tiffany "Charli Baltimore" Lane (born August 16, 1974) is an American Grammy Award nominated female rapper. Her stage name is taken from Geena Davis's character in the film ''The Long Kiss Goodnight''.

Musical career

Lane was born to a German father and an African American mother. She was primarily raised by her elder half-sister, Yolanda. She graduated from Peirce College and became a certified paralegal. Baltimore has two daughters, India and Sianni. She gave birth to her eldest daughter when she was only 14 years old.

She met The Notorious B.I.G. in the summer of 1995, and they became involved in a romantic relationship. B.I.G. introduced her to Lance "Un" Rivera, who signed her and Cam'ron to his new label, ''Untertainment''. She made her first appearance in the music industry in 1995 with Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s "Get Money" playing The Notorious B.I.G's then wife Faith Evans. Her first video was in 1998 with the hit "Money" featured on the ''Woo'' movie soundtrack. Baltimore was also referenced by rapper Jay-Z in his song the "Allure" on ''The Black Album'' when he said, "All the Christy’s in every city and Tiffany Lanes we're all hustlers in love with the same thing...".

With collaborators such as Cam'ron and N.O.R.E., Baltimore recorded her debut album ''Cold as Ice'' which featured tracks like "Money," "Pimp Da 1 U Love," "N.B.C.," and "Stand Up."

After being delayed several times due to friction between Baltimore and the label, ''Cold as Ice'' was eventually released promotionally in 1999 (it was not actually made available to the general public until 2009, for digital download). After a five-year hiatus, she was signed to Murder Inc. Records (later renamed ''The Inc. Records'') by CEO Irv Gotti. After constant album delays, she left the label. In 2006 she became affiliated with The Game and The Black Wall Street Records. She was never signed to the label but appeared on mix tapes with the rest of the Black Wall Street dissing 50 Cent and his G-Unit.

Baltimore has made appearances in songs such as "Down 4 U", "We Still Don't Give A F**k", and "No One Does It Better" from Irv Gotti Presents The Inc, Ja Rule tracks "Down Ass Bitch" and "The Last Temptation", the Christina Milian track "Spending Time" and Ashanti's "Rain On Me" (remix). In 2003, she earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Rap Solo Performance, for her single "Diary".

In 2008, Baltimore re-signed with The Inc. Records, as confirmed on an interview with Wendy Williams, and began work on an album called ''Controlling Charli'', which still remains unreleased. She released an EP on iTunes featuring "Come Test Us" (with Lil Wayne), "Lose It" (previously unreleased explicit version), "P.S." and previously unreleased track "Tattoo"

Discography

Albums

1999: ''Cold As Ice''

2003: ''The Diary (You Think You Know)''

2011: ''Controlling Charli''

Singles

1998: "Money Love"

1998: "Feel It"

1999: "Stand Up" (featuring Ghostface Killah)

1999: "Horse and Carriage (Remix)"

2000: "Everybody Wanna Know"

2000: "Charli" ¹

2002: "Nobody Does It Better" (featuring Ashanti)

2002: "Diary"

2002: "Hey Charli"

2008: "Lose It"

2008: "P.S."

2010: "Come Test Us" (featuring Lil Wayne)

¹ The song was re-released in 2003 as the final buzz single for Charli's shelved album, ''The Diary (You Think You Know)''

Album appearances

1998: "Walk On By" Fat Joe - Don Cartagena

2000: "Blak is Blak" - ''Bamboozled'' soundtrack

2002: "We Still Don't Give a Fuck" - Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.

2002: "No One Does It Better" - Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.

2002: "Last Temptation" Ja Rule - The Last Temptation

2007: "I Am" Mya - Liberation

Featured singles

1998: "Horse & Carriage" (Remix) Cam'ron featuring Big Pun, Wyclef Jean, Charli Baltimore & Silkk The Shocker

2002: "Down 4 U" (Irv Gotti featuring Charli Baltimore, Ashanti, Ja Rule and Vita)

2002: "Spending Time" Christina Milian featuring Charli Baltimore

2002: "Down Ass Bitch" (Ja Rule featuring Charli Baltimore)

2003: "Rain on Me (Remix)" (Ashanti featuring Charli Baltimore, Hussein Fatal & Ja Rule)

2008: "Portrait of Love (Remix)" (Cheri Dennis featuring Charli Baltimore)

References

Category:1974 births Category:African American rappers Category:Female rappers Category:American musicians of German descent Category:Living people Category:Rappers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:German people of American descent Category:Peirce College people

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