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I'm A Passionate Person. I'm A Lot Of Things, Like Most People Are. Most People Are Dynamic. The Focus Is Not On Me Though, I'm A Screen. The Aim Is To Always Keep Myself In The Position Where The Screen Is Clear.

-Mos Def

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I'm A Passionate Person.

Mos Def

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I'm A Passionate Person. I'm A Lot Of Things, Like Most People Are. Most People Are Dynamic. The Focus Is Not On Me Though, I'm A Screen. The Aim Is To Always Keep Myself In The Position Where The Screen Is Clear.

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Reckless Capitalism Kills Black People.

I Like To Read The 'financial Times' When I'm Traveling. 'economist.' 'ad Busters.'

I've Always Loved Music And I Love The Language, Which Is A Huge Reason Why I'm Part Of Theater.

There's Just Some Dysfunctionalism With Artists.

You Have To Be An Extremist To Believe That You're Gonna Be The President Of The United States And Your Name Is Barack Hussein Obama! And He's Using Extreme Methods, But His Application Is Very Smooth. Michelle Obama Is Extreme, Her Presence Is Extreme. And It's An Extreme Good. Extreme Is Not Negative.

I Get Reminded A Lot Of The Time That My Life Is A Little Bit Different, But I'm Just Trying To Keep It As Regular As Possible Because I Like It That Way

I Don't Wanna Get Into That Space Where A Lot Of Guys Now, Their Solo Album Is Like Eight Or 10 Songs With Other People, You Don't Get An Idea Of Who This Guy Is. I Just Wasn't Interested In That.

Hip-hop Is The Last True Folk Art.

The Test In Life Nowadays Is Just Trying To Keep Yourself Charged Up With Enough Good Feeling. It's Like, "ok What Am I Going To Do To Feel Really Good Today?" Not Like, Some Chick Or A Drink.

Fame Is Like Getting Across The Street. It's Like, If There's Nothing To Be Across The Street For, It's A Pointless Destination. It's Like, "i Gotta Get Across The Street, Man! I Gotta Be There! I Gotta Be There!" Then You Get Across The Street And You're Like, "yeah I'm Here!" And Then, That's It. Fame Doesn't Make You Particularly Happy.

To Me, Playing An Instrument And Singing, All Of These Different Things Are Just As Natural To Me As Rhyming.

You're Not Gonna Get Through Life Without Being Worshipful Or Devoted To Something. You're Either Devoted To Your Job, Or To Your Desires. So The Best Way To Spend Your Life Is To Try To Be Devoted To Prayer, To Allah.

Don't Look Down, It's An Impossible View; Fly Like An Eagle Whatever You Do.

I Began To Fear That Mos Def Was Being Treated As A Product, Not A Person, So I've Been Going By Yasiin Since '99. At First It Was Just For Friends And Family, But Now I'm Declaring It Openly.

Family And Friends

And From The Moment That I Saw You, I Knew You Was Trouble, But I Disregarded Detour Signs, And Did Not Stop Til You Was Mine. I Guess God Was Like, 'aight, Fine.' Careful What You Wish For, Cause You Just Might Get It In Heaps. Try To Give It Back, He Be Like, 'nah, That's Yours To Keep.'

I'm Just An Artist And I'm Doin' What I Like To Do.

In The Early '90s, When I Really Started To Find My Voice, I Was Reading A Lot Of Books, And I Was Moved By The Writers, Like Chinua Achebe, And I Wanted To Be Able To Write Rhymes That Were As Potent As What I Was Reading.

To Me, The Job Of The Artist Is To Provide A Useful And Intelligent Vocabulary For The World To Be Able To Articulate Feelings They Experience Everyday, And Otherwise Wouldn't Have The Means To Express In A Meaningful And Useful Way.

We Can Be Beautiful And Feel Beautiful About Who We Are Everyday.

I'm Doing Exactly What I Was Supposed To Do. Yeah. I Didn't Exactly Choose This. My Own Life, If It Were Up To Me, Would Be Very, Very Quiet. I'd Be Like A Shopkeeper, A Book Collector, Or Something Like That. I'm Not Like This. Myself As A Performer And An Artist Is Totally Different From Who I Am.

Make Today's Solid Ground Out Of Yesterday's Quicksand.

Bob Marley Performed The 'one Love Peace' Concert In Jamaica With The Two Different Warring Political Sides. There's Always Been That In Black Music And Culture In General. It's No Surprise Because Black Music Is Such A Reflection Of What's Going On In Black Life. It's Not Unusual For Hip-hop.

I Don't Rap Like Nobody, I Don't Try To Sound Like Nobody.

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Beef Is Not What Jay Said To Nas; Beef Is When The Working Folks Can't Find Jobs.

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When People Say I Don't See You Enough, Well Just Because You Don't See Me Don't Mean I Don't Exist Or Just 'cause You Haven't Heard Me Don't Mean I Haven't Been Making Noise. But If I Keep Making Noise, You'll Pick Up.

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With Guys I Revere, Like Marcus Garvey Or Malcolm X, Their Look Is Less About Style Than Purpose And The Expression Of Beauty. It Wasn't Just About Being Noticed, You Know?

I Ain't No Perfect Man I'm Tryna Do The Best That I Can With What It Is I Have.

All The Things That Are Worth Doing, Take Time.

I'd Bet A Million Dollars On Doom Against Lil' Wayne

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The New Moon Rode High In The Crown Of The Metropolis. Shinin', Like "who On Top Of This?

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Hip-hop Is Rock & Roll. What The Hell Is Wu-tang But Motorhead?

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I Never Had Any Ambitions Of Being A Movie Star Or Anything Like That, But You Know, This Is Nice.

Twitter Freaks Me Out. You Have Followers? It Feels So Obsessive And Proprietary.

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If You're Going To Do Chuck Berry, You Got To, You Know, Go All Out, And The Duck Walk Is Just Kind Of You Know, Cursory. That's Like Standing.

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Focused. I'm A Hustler. And My Hustle Is Trying To Figure Out The Best Ways To Do What I Like Without Having To Do Much Else.

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I Believe The Projects Were A Social Experiment; We Were Laboratory Rats Stacked On Top Of Each Other, And People Just Knew, Inherently, That There Was Something Wrong. There's Not A Lot Of Regard For The Property By The Residents.

It's Possible And Available To Any Artist To Be Himself Or Herself On Their Own Terms, To Be Accepted And Embraced By Black People. You Don't Have To Be A Thug To Get Love From Black People.

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