Movies by Mos Def
As part of the cast:
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Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012)
Cast: Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Nas …
Directed by: Ice-T
In his directorial debut, Ice-T interviews dozens of other rap and hip-hop artists, including Mos Def, Eminem and Dr. Dre, about their creative processes. Focusing on the craft rather than…
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Re:Generation (2012)
Cast: Mos Def, Nas, Erykah Badu …
Directed by: Amir Bar-Lev
Featuring the likes of DJ Premier, Mark Ronson and The Crystal Method, this documentary examines the history of five select musical genres. Highlights include Skrillex's collaboration…
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The Brazilian Job (2011)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham …
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Gathering his regular crew of cronies for another caper, expert thief Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) is back to pull off the heist of his career in this action-adventure sequel to 2003's…
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Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011)
Cast: A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Pharrell Williams …
Directed by: Michael Rapaport
Filmmaker Michael Rapaport goes behind the scenes with this documentary to chronicle the tumultuous group dynamics that have driven influential, genre-bending hip-hop sensations A Tribe…
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ReGeneration (2010)
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Noam Chomsky, Talib Kweli …
Directed by: Phillip Montgomery
This insightful documentary probes the psyche of today's youth, who seem too overwhelmed by the multitude of issues facing them to take any action. Are they just pampered and…
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Next Day Air (2009)
Cast: Donald Faison, Mos Def, Mike Epps …
Directed by: Benny Boom
Panic erupts when a package of cocaine is inadvertently delivered to the wrong address by a hapless delivery driver in this dark comedy. As the sender tries to retrieve the drugs, the…
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Labor Day (2009)
Cast: Ted Koppel, Steve Earle, Mos Def …
Directed by: Glenn Silber
With the 2008 presidential campaign as framework, this documentary homes in on one labor union's embrace of the democratic process, whether corralling candidates to speak on health care…
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Be Kind Rewind (2008)
Cast: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover …
Directed by: Michel Gondry
A video-store employee can't believe his bad luck when his kooky buddy accidentally magnetizes himself and inadvertently erases every tape on the shelves, forcing the blundering duo to…
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Cadillac Records (2008)
Cast: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé Knowles …
Directed by: Darnell Martin
The sounds of 1950s Chicago color this drama based on the true story of a bar owner who signed a lineup of future legends to his fledgling record label. He crosses paths with Muddy Waters,…
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In Prison My Whole Life (2007)
Cast: Mumia Abu-Jamal, Noam Chomsky, Mos Def …
Directed by: Marc Evans
Sentenced to death for killing a police officer, political activist and award-winning journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal has been on death row since the 1980s. By exploring his story, this…
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Prince Among Slaves (2007)
Cast: Mos Def, Marcus Mitchell, Ian Coblyn …
Directed by: Andrea Kalin, Bill Duke
Abdul Rahman, an African prince who was sold into slavery, spent four decades in servitude before an amazing coincidence took him to the White House to meet President John Quincy Adams, where…
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Number One with a Bullet (2007)
Cast: Ice Cube, Mos Def, KRS-One …
Directed by: Jim Dziura
Rappers Young Buck, B-Real, Obie Trice, the Last Mr. Bigg and 40 Glocc revisit their experiences as survivors of shootings in this provocative documentary that examines the connection between…
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16 Blocks (2006)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse …
Directed by: Richard Donner
Tasked with escorting chatty prosecution witness Eddie Bunker (rapper and seasoned actor Mos Def) from police custody to a nearby courthouse, aging New York City cop Jack Mosley (Bruce…
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Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006)
Cast: Dave Chappelle, Kanye West, Common …
Comedian extraordinaire Dave Chappelle hosts this remarkable block party shot in Brooklyn, N.Y., featuring performances by Kanye West, Mos Def and many others. Neighbors and friends are…
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Journey to the End of the Night (2006)
Cast: Scott Glenn, Brendan Fraser, Mos Def …
Directed by: Eric Eason
In this sophomore feature from Eric Eason (whose first film, Manito, was a winner at the Sundance Film Festival), the action takes place in Sao Paolo, Brazil, where a father and son get…
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Lackawanna Blues (2005)
Cast: S. Epatha Merkerson, Marcus Franklin, Mos Def …
Directed by: George C. Wolfe
Playwright Ruben Santiago-Hudson stars in this version of his Obie Award-winning stage drama directed by George C. Wolfe. Rachel "Nanny" Crosby (S. Epatha Merkerson) lives in a house in…
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Cast: Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell …
Directed by: Garth Jennings
After learning his house is about to be leveled to make way for a bypass and that Earth is about to be destroyed to clear the way for an interstellar thruway, jinxed Arthur Dent survives by…
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Alicia Keys: Unplugged (2005)
Cast: Alicia Keys, Common, Damian Marley …
Grammy-winning songstress Alicia Keys revives MTV's groundbreaking "Unplugged" series with a live concert filmed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, featuring special guests Common, Damian…
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Blow! DVD Magazine: Vol. 5: Pushin the Raw and Uncut (2005)
Cast: Fat Joe, Snoop Dogg, Sean Paul …
The fifth installment of this cutting-edge video magazine explores the raw and uncut work of some of the music scene's most prominent artists. More than two hours of exclusive footage…
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Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth (2005)
Cast: George Clinton, David Byrne, Les Claypool …
Directed by: Philip Di Fiore
Filmmaker Philip Di Fiore directs this extensive documentary that sheds light on an overlooked genius of modern music, the incomparable Bernie Worrell. Championed by musicians worldwide,…
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The Woodsman (2004)
Cast: Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Mos Def …
Directed by: Nicole Kassell
A convicted pedophile -- paroled after 12 years -- returns to his hometown eager to rebuild his life. But as he settles into a lumberyard job and begins a relationship with a co-worker, he…
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Shades of Hip Hop: Resurrection (2004)
Cast: Jay-Z, Kimberly "Lil' Kim" Jones, 50 Cent …
Filmed in various locations (such as Sony Recording Studios, The Hit Factory, D&D Studios, Flava Unit Records and The Brick City Nightclub), this roof-raising collection gathers a series of…
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Something the Lord Made (2004)
Cast: Alan Rickman, Mos Def, Mary Stuart Masterson …
Directed by: Joseph Sargent
This Emmy-winning HBO film based on a true story follows white surgeon Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman) and his black assistant, Vivien Thomas (Mos Def), who teamed in the 1940s to develop a…
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The Devil's Music (2004)
Cast: Mos Def
Consisting of 10 episodes, this animated, online series from screenwriter Cheo Hodari Coker follows rapper Shane McDaniel (voiced by Mos Def), who cuts a deal with Old Scratch in exchange for…
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Shades of Hip Hop: The Cypher (2004)
Out-of-control egos veer and crash in this unique look at some of hip-hop's biggest stars (DMX, Mos Def, Big Pun, Canibus, John Forte and Mic Geronimo) before they gained international…
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Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme (2004)
Cast: Mos Def, Tupac Shakur, Marshall Mathers …
Directed by: Kevin Fitzgerald
The trailblazers and contemporary purveyors of freestyle rap rub elbows in this one-hour documentary chronicling the genre's genesis, taboos, societal influence and future. Recorded in…
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Juvies (2004)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mos Def, Michael Duc Ta …
Directed by: Leslie Neale
Focusing on a dozen young lawbreakers, director Leslie Neale delivers an unblinking look at the juvenile criminal justice system. Among the offenders are a 15-year-old girl facing a…
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The Italian Job (2003)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland …
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Mark Wahlberg stars as Charlie Croker, a clever thief who masterminds a major heist amid the waterways of Venice, Italy -- but a betrayal by one of his own spells disaster, and Croker returns…
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Civil Brand (2003)
Cast: LisaRaye, N'Bushe Wright, Monica Calhoun …
Directed by: Neema Barnette
N'Bushe Wright, Monica Calhoun, Lisa Raye, Mos Def and Tichina Arnold star in this drama about Frances Shepherd, a prisoner at Whitehead Correctional Institute, where making money --…
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Boot Camp: From the Front Lines: Duck Down Visuals: Vol. 4 (2003)
Cast: Boot Camp Clik, Buckshot, Heltah Skeltah …
Duck Down Records supergroup Boot Camp Clik hits the road for the hip-hop Lyricist Lounge Tour and Ecko Canadian Concert series, and they bring cameras along to capture every moment of the…
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Brown Sugar (2002)
Cast: Taye Diggs, Sanaa Lathan, Mos Def …
Directed by: Rick Famuyiwa
Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) and Dre (Taye Diggs) trace their friendship and the launch of their careers to a single childhood instant: the day they discovered hip-hop on a New York street corner.…
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Monster's Ball (2001)
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Heath Ledger …
Directed by: Marc Forster
Death row in the Louisiana State Penitentiary is the hothouse backdrop for this hard-hitting drama about racist prison guard Billy Bob Thornton, who falls in love with the wife (Best Actress…
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Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
Cast: Beyoncé Knowles, Mekhi Phifer, Mos Def …
Directed by: Robert Townsend
Beyoncé Knowles and Mekhi Phifer star in Bizet's famed opera of passion, romance, betrayal and tragedy, retold hip-hop style. Knowles is the mesmerizing and irresistible Carmen, a…
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The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-Boy (2001)
Cast: Redman, Afrika Bambaataa, Mos Def …
It was the 1970s in the South Bronx when a handful of innovative DJs and fast-rhyming MCs laid down the sound for a dance revolution. These B-boys -- also known as "breakboys" or…
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Bamboozled (2000)
Cast: Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett Smith …
Directed by: Spike Lee
Director Spike Lee copies from Mel Brooks' oeuvre with this story about a producer whose show is so bad that audiences can't get enough. TV producer Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans)…
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Island of the Dead (2000)
Cast: Talisa Soto, Bruce Ramsay, Malcolm McDowell …
Directed by: Tim Southam
Malcolm McDowell, Mos Def and Talisa Soto star in this supernatural thriller about Rupert King, a rich real estate developer who's hatching a plot to build on New York's Hart…
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Where's Marlowe? (1998)
Cast: Miguel Ferrer, John Livingston, Mos Def …
Directed by: Daniel Pyne
In this irreverent mockumentary, two young filmmakers decide to follow private investigator Joe Boone on their next project. When Joe's partner quits, the directors continue to make…