#hi

I just don't think it's very dignified to ask people to like you. You can just wind up being somebody's ottoman. ↗

— Mos Def

#being #dignified #i #just #like

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

#always #clear #dynamic #focus #i

When a father inquired about the best method of educating his son in ethical conduct, a Pythagorean replied: "Make gim a citizen of a state with good laws. ↗

— Hegel

#hegelianism #philosophy #education

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. ↗

— Mos Def

#because #been #black #black music #bob

Hip-hop is the last true folk art. ↗

— Mos Def

#folk #hip-hop #last #true

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. ↗

— Mos Def

#each #experiment #i #i believe #i believe the

I can't control what people think. I'm not trying to manipulate people's thoughts or sentiments. I write all the time. You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions. It's machine-like how things are run now in hip-hop, and my ambitions are different. ↗

— Mos Def

#control #different #experience #hip-hop #how

That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn't be nationalistic or denominational. It should be a chief concern for all mankind. ↗

— Mos Def

#chief concern #concern #denominational #humanity #idea

To me, playing an instrument and singing, all of these different things are just as natural to me as rhyming. ↗

— Mos Def

#different things #instrument #just #me #natural

What I take from writers I like is their economy - the ability to use language to very effective ends. The ability to have somebody read something and see it, or for somebody to paint an entire landscape of visual imagery with just sheets of words - that's magical. ↗

— Mos Def

#economy #effective #ends #entire #i