You can positively affect and change a social circumstance with art, and it’s vital that a change happens now.

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.

I'm retiring the Mos Def name after 2011. I'm actually doing it.

I have no confidence issues with the impact or the quality of the music. No one in hip-hop, before this point and to this point, with all due respect, has done this.

Twitter freaks me out. You have followers? It feels so obsessive and proprietary.

We blasted holes in the night until she bled sunshine

All the things that are worth doing, take time.