Mos Def was born Dante Terrell Smith on December 11, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York City, USA. He is an American rapper and actor.

He is known to movie audiences for his roles in The Italian Job (2003) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005).

Def hit the music scene in the late 1990s, first gaining attention for the underground hit "Universal Magnetic."

After his first solo album, 1999's Black on Both Sides, Mos Def the actor began to get as much attention as Mos Def the hip-hop artist, in films.

He starred in Spike Lee's Bamboozled (2000) and in Monster's Ball (2001). Another his roles including Showtime (2002) and 16 Blocks (2006), starring Bruce Willis.

Filmography

• The Brazilian Job (2009)
• Little Scarlet (2008)
• Keep Coming Back (2008)
• Bury Me Standing (2008)
• Bobby Zero (2008)
• Toussaint (2007)
• Stringbean and Marcus (2007)
• Be Kind Rewind (2007)
• "Chappelle's Show" (7 episodes, 2003-2006)
• Journey to the End of the Night (2006)
• 16 Blocks (2006)
• "The Boondocks" (1 episode, 2005)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
• Lackawanna Blues (2005)
• Something the Lord Made (2004)
• Focused Digizine 1 (2004)
• The Woodsman (2004)
• The Italian Job (2003)
• "My Wife and Kids" (1 episode, 2002)
• Brown Sugar (2002)
• Civil Brand (2002)
• Showtime (2002)
• Monster's Ball (2001)
• "The Wayne Brady Show" (1 episode, 2001)
• Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
• Bamboozled (2000)
• Island of the Dead (2000)
• "NYPD Blue" (3 episodes, 1997-2000)
• Where's Marlowe? (1998)
• "Spin City" (1 episode, 1998)
• "Brooklyn South" (2 episodes, 1997)
• Ghosts (1997)
• "The Cosby Mysteries" (3 episodes, 1994)
• The Cosby Mysteries (1994)
• "Here and Now" (1 episode, 1992)
• The Hard Way (1991)
• "You Take the Kids" (1989)
• God Bless the Child (1988)

Awards

• Online Hip Hop Awards Amadou Diallo Revolutionary Award 2000