Blogs and Stories
A Great Black Actor Goes Loco
Paul Hawthorne / Getty Images
In movies ranging from Cadillac Records to Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, Mos Def proved he was an amazing and versatile actor. Now, he’s going on TV saying he doesn’t believe what the government says about Islamic terrorism or the space program. Huh?
Dante Terrell Smith, popularly known as Mos Def, is two people right now. We would do ourselves an injustice if we did not separate them or recognize his confusion. One is extremely good, the other is dangerous if swallowed.
Smith is easily the most sensitive and intelligent actor to come out of the hip-hop world, which is not a great feat in itself. He is, however, quite special simply because of his range, from contemporary black-nationalist knucklehead in Spike Lee’s Bamboozled to a Southern surgical genius of the segregated era in Something the Lord Made and, most recently, the Chuck Berry with which he so perfectly enhances Cadillac Records.
In TV appearances, the things Mos Def claimed not to believe included the success of the space program, the international existence of terrorism, and the troubles with Islamic fundamentalism that Ayaan Hirsi Ali laid down, from genital mutilation to murder, in her memoir Infidel.
That is quite a triangle of performances. The first alerts us to the ever-present danger of a crabbed and absurd sense of black authenticity; the second gives us luminous insight into those who fought the long and slow fight against imposed limitations, partially because their sensibilities demanded that they do their duty working in the life of the mind; and his turn in Cadillac Records, as Berry, provides insights into a man looking to sell out at the first chance but was done dirty by the pull of his carnal appetites.
We should all be happy in this time of ongoing minstrelsy because Smith arrives with a talent equal to those of younger men like Terrence Howard and Jeffrey Wright. All three share the ability to give such detail to a character that they can move beyond a handful of poorly executed “types” and provide the surprising individual vitality only the best actors summon.
The second Dante Terrell Smith lives up to his silly nickname. Not long ago, after reading a black political blog, I found myself moving along, link to link, until I went from Smith’s making hilarious fun of another rapper’s insipid lyrics to a very disturbing appearance he made with Cornel West in a discussion with Bill Maher on Real Time some time shortly before the presidential election. That was a gully-low moment.
I found it disturbing because it was the contrived Mutt and Jeff act of a public—or pop—black intellectual and a guy from the bottom. Successful people perform that act in order to prove that they are still connected to the community. While Cornel West pretended to sympathize with “where he was coming from,” the actor ran through the counterfeit lack of sense we see too frequently in those always trying to make it clear that they have not “left the ‘hood.” Their mask of brain rot allows them to genuflect in the face of ignorance.
Just a few weeks ago, Smith appeared on Real Time with Salman Rushdie and Christopher Hitchens, but his pretentious "brother from the projects" act did not go over well. His supposed courage to "express an unpopular opinion" was taken by Hitchens as an insult to the common intellectual knowledge that anyone should have about big issues in the contemporary world. Unlike those white Americans who have presented black illogic as a form of popular entertainment since the days of Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver, Hitchens was not having it and challenged Smith to back up his purported opinions. This is something the British are much better at than their American counterparts. Stuck in his act, Smith wavered forward, sinking with every syllable he uttered. That's how it goes: When the right white people are encountered, contrived ethnic authenticity doesn't cut it.
Watch Mos Def and Chris Hitchens debate the existence of Osama bin Laden on Real Time with Bill Maher.
Given his proven abilities, Smith does not “owe” the projects anything less than heroic morale and a broader understanding of life, not a corroboration of urban folks' limitations, as when he parroted the trickle-down exclusion from easily proven facts no rational person would deny.
The Right Dumps Carrie
Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
What's Joe's Problem?
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Geithner's Stock Plummeting
Jeff Madrick is a contributor to the New York Review of Books and a former economics columnist for the New York Times. He is editor of Challenge Magazine, visiting professor of humanities at Cooper Union, and senior fellow at the New School's Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. He is the author of Taking America, The End of Affluence (Random House) and The Case for Big Government.
Desperately Seeking a GOP Hero
Stanley Crouch's culture pieces have appeared in Harper's, The New York Times, Vogue, Downbeat, The New Yorker, and more. He has served as artistic consultant for jazz programming at Lincoln Center since 1987, and is a founder of Jazz at Lincoln Center. In June 2006 his first major collection of jazz criticism, Considering Genius: Jazz Writings, was published. He is presently completing a book about the Barack Obama presidential campaign.
Carter's Charge Is a Distraction
Stanley Crouch's culture pieces have appeared in Harper's, The New York Times, Vogue, Downbeat, The New Yorker, and more. He has served as artistic consultant for jazz programming at Lincoln Center since 1987, and is a founder of Jazz at Lincoln Center. In June 2006 his first major collection of jazz criticism, Considering Genius: Jazz Writings, was published. He is presently completing a book about the Barack Obama presidential campaign.
How Insane Is the Beer Summit?
Stanley Crouch's culture pieces have appeared in Harper's, The New York Times, Vogue, Downbeat, The New Yorker, and more. He has served as artistic consultant for jazz programming at Lincoln Center since 1987, and is a founder of Jazz at Lincoln Center. In June 2006 his first major collection of jazz criticism, Considering Genius: Jazz Writings, was published. He is presently completing a book about the Barack Obama presidential campaign.
And I care what someone who calls themself "Mos Def" says because?
i saw his appearance on bill maher, and though i didn't agree with all he said, Mos Def is a smart and informed guy, who like most of us, is upset that the government and media continue to lie to us and scare us while making life worse for the average person. seriously -- who has inflicted more pain for the real american: al quada or our own political and business leaders of the last 30 years?www.thebadchemicals.com
Dear Mr. Crouch,
What an excellent piece. I've been trying to process Mos Def's recent appearance on Bill maher's show since I saw it. I have always respected him as an actor and enjoyed his performances. However, I was shocked at the absolute nonsense he was spouting on the show. I am saddened when people believe that "keepin' it real" involves keeping it dumb. What a contrast with the Obama's who seem to value thoughtfulness and reason. I am going to write to Mr. Maher and demand he puts people like you on the show, ones who have interesting and coherent things to say! Once agian, great column!!
Because he is who black teens and young adults look up to. Mr. Crouch sums it up perfectly, "Ignorance is a lack of information, not a genetic defect or a "cultural style;" and irrationality should be fought at every step."
You should care because lots of people care and believe what he says. Moral relativism and cultural scapegoating are just two of the consequences of ignorance masquerading as independent thought. Couch it in intellectual bombast and it becomes even more dangerous. It's easy to dismiss MosDef's equation of police and terrorists - even if it's difficult to tolerate - until Cornel West condones, if not defends, his point.
Because he is a successful, multi-talented performer who is often looked at as an stand-out intellectual in the Hip Hop world, but is actually plagued by prototypical black fears and paranoia.
Like Mr. Dante Terrel Smith stated, we are all entitled to our opinions.
It seems to me that Mos Def is representative of the growing distrust and disgust with authority building in the world today. The walls are coming down.
The American people are beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together. With the release of more and more information skepticism grows.
The bank bailouts.
AIG funneling tax dollars to the banks under the veil of "counter party risk."
More and more tax dollars going to corporations to curtail "systemic risk."
ETC.
Behind it all, the people in charge are taking billions in contributions and other money. The hypocrisy is overwhelming! Its clear to the average American, the game is rigged. Do you blame anyone right now for being skeptical .... of EVERYTHING!
I too was disappointed in two people that I had been previously impressed with. Mos Def for his music and acting and Cornel West for his intellect and writing. They both lost some stature in my eyes on The Bill Maher show on that night. Mos Def lost a little more after his most recent appearance. Christopher Hitchens called him on it and he continued to act as if he was voicing an "unpopular opinion" when he really didn't voice an opinion at all or an idea he just seemed to voice a series of non-sequiturs. And then he tried to fall back on the "I'm just a Black man feeling under attack" on the overtime segment. Cornel West has seemed to lower himself to try and gain some cred with rappers. He opened his mouth on CNN and said that Lil Wayne was a genius and I just think genius is a little more than just selling a lot of records. Just throwing genius out there from someone of, for me, his intellectual stature is disappointing
Mos Def is just dumb. I remember him from the crap films "16 Blocks" and whatever that Mark Walberg abortion was called.
And really whenever some moron tries to equate world politics into "white-devilry" I tune it out. If Obama has lost, if I and all my white friends hadn't voted for him, then maybe Mos Def would have a case.
He's just scared, in this brave new world, like Jesse and Sharpton, of not being needed. It's no longer true that America is predominantly racist. And so they're obsolete.
Mos Def is charismatic, but a "great" actor? He mumbles inexpressively through most of his lines.
Everything else Mr. Crouch wrote seems dead-on and well reasoned.
I put it my own way: America needs more black violinists.
Another home run for Crouch.
I would expect noting other than a confused young man , look what he is surrounded by all these nut cases in jolly wood how could you live in a hole like that and not be twisted in your thinking ,Hell he probably attended fonda's school for the youth or may be spike lees school of hate hMMMMMMMMM
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
xbainx
you are just dumb
I have seen a bunch of your posts. And all of them are the most brainwashed, pawn-like, I got all my knowledge from the TV, predictable pieces of trash ever.
I have to assume everything you know you have been told and you do no real thinking for yourself.
Mos Def has one of the most intelligent, artistic minds of our generation. He is an unparreled lyricist and has helped to create multiple platforms for creative expression.
But hey if some British guy says Mos Def is wrong then he must be "off his rocker" right.
Go fornicate with yourself xbainx
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
Did he say that "Bin Laden doesn't exist" or that did he say "Bin Laden is a mythical figure"?
I didn't see the show, or what Mos Def said before this clip, but any lover of words should know that "mythical" doesn't always mean the same as "non-existent" or "imaginary."
It's often considered insulting when
referring to an African American as "articulate"
or "well-spoken" as if the ability to speak
clearly comes as a surprise.
Based on the video snippet,
Mos Def probably won't have
to worry about being insulted like that.
it's pretty weird to write about race and ethnic groups.
What Mos Def said regarding Osama Bin Laden is "he's been promoted like a mythical figure." Just think about those exact words for a moment, and try to understand what he might have been saying. Why has the most powerful, technologically advanced nation in history been unable to find Osama Bin Laden? Of course he would be left uncaptured and promoted as an iconic figure, because he has been the 'gift that keeps on giving' to justify the last 8 years of criminal, shameful behavior by Bush/Cheney in invading Iraq, Hitchens/Limbaugh flaming anti-muslim sentiment, and untold oil profit of which the Bush and Bin Laden dynasties are the chief beneficiaries. Can't we see what's really going on her? Don't miss out on the message just because you choke on the po' lil rappin' black dude -- he didn't invent this putrid Bush-Obama partnership (get it?) - - he's just trying to call your attention to it.
Christopher Hitchens cast Mos Def's thought process into dispersion.
That is just wrong.
Wow,,, can't believe I stepped on my own post by mistakenly typing Bush-Obama when I meant Bush-Osama. The ironies and synchronicities in all of this are just too much. What a drama to see unfolding ...
I like Mos Def's work-I think he is charming. I ADORE Hitchens' mind. So with my bias stated... I watched that show and had to leave the room for a bit, so embarassed was I of Mos' raving. I understood his point- Who gives a fuck about Osama, when we have so many problems right here, right now. But Hitchens was trying to make a point too. That there is PLENTY of reason to care where Osama is. Hitchens is schooled in rhetoric and so brings a formal set of rules and obligations to his arguments. If Mos and done the same maybe he wouldn't have looked so silly. (And he kept interupting Hitchens, which chapped my ass-I really like to hear the words coming out of that man's mouth.)
Mos Def's postulation reminds me a lot like Tracy Jordan's claims on "30 Rock". Of a secret cabal of involving Oprah, Colin Powell and Gordon from Sesame Street.
.
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.
Please log in to leave comments.