That’s because Bey moved to South Africa on a visitors permit, which he overstayed. But I’m glad I did.”Ī decision to immigrate to somewhere so far from his longtime musical home, Brooklyn, and to distance himself from the Hollywood universe on which he had built his film career seemed interesting and simple enough at the time, but it also may have been a bit short-sighted. New York City needs to thank Brooklyn every day just for existing. “For a guy like me to leave America, things gotta be not so good with America.”In an interview at the time, the rapper was pretty vague on his reasons for leaving the U.S., but hinted at overall disillusionment with his home country, saying, “For a guy like me, with five or six generations from the same town in America, to leave America, things gotta be not so good with America.” That said, he wasn’t totally willing to throw America under the bus, adding, “There are some beautiful places in America. Just two years later, another personal choice would make international headlines as Bey, feeling increasingly disillusioned with the United States, decided to move himself and his family to Capetown, South Africa in May of 2013. 2013-2014: The move to South Africa, first immigration issues In addition, Bey said in a 2011 interview with MTV2 that he would not be offended if people called him Mos Def in the future because he had spent years cultivating his musical persona. Bey claims to have used the name Yasiin privately among friends and family since 1999, and the revelation that he was a Muslim or would pick a Muslim name was not a particularly new one His father was a former Nation of Islam member, he had declared his faith openly at the age of 19, and referenced it on many recordings. What seemed to many to be an odd decision for a well-established artist was - according an interview with the musician in GQ - a reaction to “fear that Mos Def was being treated as a product, not a person.”įor the public this was big news, but for Bey it seems it was little more than an effort to humanize himself. In late 2011, the well-known musician publicly announced plans to legally change his name to Yasiin Bey, a name which he planned to adapt for recordings and live performances as well as the silver screen. The most culturally-understood of Bey’s actions in the past five years, or at least the action with seemingly the most logical train of thought, was his decision to change his name. To try and answer that question, we have assembled a little three-part timeline of Mos Def’s odd transformation, allowing you to follow the talented artist through what has been an enigmatic multi-year period. The strange message, a freestyle rap via cell phone that was posted on the website of longtime friend Kanye West, has prompted many hip-hop fans to ask: “What the hell happened to Mos Def?” Mos Def/FacebookThis week, Yasiin Bey, the 42-year-old artist formerly known as Mos Def, shockingly announced that he was retiring from music and acting.

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