| Artist: | Yasiin Bey / Mos Def |
| Studio: | 4 |
| Compilation: | 3 |
| Music Videos: | 6 |
| Option: | 2 |
| Option Name: | Collaboration albums |
| 1Option: | 6 |
| 1Option Name: | Features singles |
The discography of Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, an American rapper, consists of four solo albums, two compilation albums, and several singles. Bey began his hip hop career in 1994 in the underground rap group UTD (Urban Thermo Dynamics) alongside his sibling group members DCQ and Ces, after which he pursued a solo career.[1] In 1998, he made his mainstream debut on Rawkus Records in the duo Black Star with rapper Talib Kweli. "Definition", the lead single from Black Star's self-titled debut album, reached No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
In 1999, Yasiin Bey released his solo debut album Black on Both Sides, which was certified Gold in the US and featured the singles "Ms. Fat Booty", which reached No. 20 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart, and "Umi Says", which reached No. 60 on the UK Singles Chart. Bey performed on several compilations from Rawkus Records and other independent compilation albums. Among them was the single "Oh No" with Pharaohe Monch and Nate Dogg which reached No. 83 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Hot Rap Singles. In 2001, his single "Jam on It" from Underground Airplay Version 1.0 reached No. 23 on the Hot Rap Tracks. In 2002, he appeared on the track "Brown Sugar (Extra Sweet)" on the soundtrack to the film Brown Sugar. Featuring Faith Evans, "Brown Sugar (Extra Sweet)" reached No. 95 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
In 2004, Yasiin Bey released his second solo album The New Danger, in which he experimented with other genres such as rock and R&B.[2] The single "Sex, Love & Money" reached No. 90 on the R&B chart. Later the same year saw the release of UTD album Manifest Destiny under the independent label Illsion Media, run by Bey's brother and fellow group member DCQ. The album featured a compilation of previously unreleased and re-released tracks recorded during the original UTD run.[3] Bey's third solo album, Tru3 Magic, was released in 2006 to very little hype. Its single "Undeniable" charted only on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart but was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 2007.
Yasiin Bey's fourth solo album The Ecstatic was released in 2009 on Downtown Records with distribution by Universal Records.[4] His fifth album Negus was exclusively premiered during Art Basel in Hong Kong on March 29, 2019; and according to a press release, it will never receive a physical or digital release but will be displayed at sound installations around the world.[5]
| Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] | US R&B [7] | US Rap [8] | AUS [9] | CAN [10] | FRA [11] | SWI [12] | UK [13] | |||||||
| Black on Both Sides |
| 25 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 110 |
| ||||
| The New Danger |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 12 | 103 | 50 | 56 |
|
| |||
| True Magic |
| 77 | 25 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — |
| ||||
| The Ecstatic |
| 9 | 5 | 2 | 91 | 24 | 172 | 90 | 167 |
| ||||
| Negus |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Title | Details | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | |||
| Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star (with Talib Kweli as Black Star) |
| 53 | 13 | |
| Manifest Destiny (with UTD) |
| — | — | |
| December 99th (with Ferrari Sheppard, as Dec 99th) |
| — | — | |
| No Fear of Time (with Talib Kweli as Black Star) | — | — | ||
| Title | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| We Are Hip-Hop: Me, You, Everybody |
| |
| Mos Definite |
| |
| We Are Hip-Hop: Me, You, Everybody, Pt. 2 |
| |
| Audio 3 |
|
| Title | Year | Chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bub. [17] | US R&B [18] | US Rap [19] | UK | ||||
| "Universal Magnetic" | 1997 | — | — | — | — | Soundbombing | |
| "Ms. Fat Booty"/"Mathematics" | 1999 | — | 54 | 20 | 85 | Black on Both Sides | |
| "Umi Says" | — | — | — | 60 | |||
| "Brown Sugar (Extra Sweet)" (featuring Faith Evans) | 2002 | — | 95 | — | — | Brown Sugar (soundtrack) | |
| "Sex, Love & Money" | 2004 | — | 90 | — | — | The New Danger | |
| "Close Edge" | — | 44 | — | — | |||
| "Ghetto Rock" | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Sunshine" | 2005 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Undeniable" | 2006 | — | 31 | — | — | True Magic | |
| "Life in Marvelous Times" | 2008 | — | — | — | — | The Ecstatic | |
| "Quiet Dog Bite Hard" | 2009 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Casa Bey" | — | — | — | — | |||
| Title | Year | Chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [20] | US R&B | US Rap | UK | ||||
| "Body Rock" (with Tash & Q-Tip) | 1998 | — | 65 | 21 | — | Lyricist Lounge, Volume One | |
| "Definition" (with Talib Kweli) | 60 | 31 | 3 | — | Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star | ||
| "Respiration" (with Talib Kweli featuring Common) | 1999 | — | 54 | 6 | — | ||
| "Oh No" (with Pharoahe Monch featuring Nate Dogg) | 2000 | 83 | 22 | 1 | 24 | Lyricist Lounge 2 | |
| "Black Iz Back" (with Mau Maus) | Bamboozled (soundtrack) | ||||||
| "Sensei on the Block" (with Ski Beatz) | 2015 | — | — | — | — | ||
| Title | Year | Chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bub. | US R&B | US Rap | US Alt | ||||
| "The Love Song" (Da Bush Babees featuring Mos Def) | 1996 | 17 | 66 | 15 | — | Gravity | |
| "Travellin' Man" (DJ Honda featuring Mos Def) | 1998 | 13 | 76 | 17 | — | h II | |
| "Bullshittin' (B.S.'n...)" (N'Dea Davenport featuring Mos Def) | — | 101 | — | — | N'Dea Davenport | ||
| "B-Boy Document" (The High & Mighty featuring Mos Def and Skillz) | 1999 | — | 63 | 7 | — | Home Field Advantage/Soundbombing II | |
| "A Brighter Day" (Ronny Jordan featuring Mos Def) | — | 54 | 20 | — | A Brighter Day | ||
| "Six Days (Remix)" (DJ Shadow featuring Mos Def) | 2002 | — | 38 | — | — | Six Days 12" | |
| "Wylin' Out" (with Diverse and Prefuse 73) | — | 65 | — | — | Urban Renewal Program | ||
| "Wanna B Where U R (Thisizzaluvsong)" (Floetry featuring Mos Def) | 2003 | — | 116 | — | — | Barbershop 2: Back in Business soundtrack/Floacism "Live" | |
| "Bin Laden" (Immortal Technique featuring Mos Def) | 2005 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Magnetic Arts" (DJ Honda featuring Mos Def) | 2009 | — | — | — | — | DJ Honda IV | |
| "Stylo" (Gorillaz featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack) | 2010 | 3 | — | — | 24 | Plastic Beach | |
| Year | Song | Artist(s) | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Intro" | Da Bush Babees | Gravity | |
| "S.O.S." | ||||
| "Big Brother Beat" | De La Soul | "Stakes Is High" | ||
| "Stakes Is High (Remix)" (also featuring Truth Enola) | "Itzsoweezee (HOT)" single | |||
| 1997 | "Shinjiro" | DJ Krush | MiLight | |
| "BMT" (also featuring Biz Markie) | Towa Tei | Sound Museum | ||
| "If You Can Huh..." | Soundbombing | |||
| 1998 | "Fruits of Labor" | Wizdom Life, Matt Fingatip & Shawn J. Period | Hip Hop Independents Vol. 1 | |
| "Rock Rock Y'all" (also featuring Punchline, Jane Doe and Wordsworth) | A Tribe Called Quest | The Love Movement | ||
| "World Famous" | Funkmaster Flex | The Mixtape Volume 3: 60 Minutes of Funk, The Final Chapter | ||
| "Crying at Airports (Shawn J. Period Remix)" | Whale | "Four Big Speakers" single | ||
| 1999 | "Double Trouble" | The Roots | Things Fall Apart | |
| "Next Universe" | Soundbombing II | |||
| "Tinseltown to the Boogiedown" | Scritti Politti | Anomie & Bonhomie | ||
| "If It's Alright Y'all" | Brixx | Superrappin: The Album | ||
| "Foundation" | DJ Honda | 2000 | ||
| "All Praises Due" | A.D.L.I.B. | Urban Renewal: Word on the Street | ||
| 2000 | "You (Feel Good Remix)" | Samuel Christian | Black and White (soundtrack) | |
| "Saturday Nite" | Brand New Heavies | Delicious Vinyl Presents... Prime Cuts Vol. 1 | ||
| "On My Own" | The Black Eyed Peas, Les Nubians | Bridging the Gap | ||
| "Eve" | Spacek | "Eve" single | ||
| "A Tree Never Grown" | A.L., Fre, Grafh, Invincible, J-Live, Jane Doe, Kofi Taha, Rubix, Tame One & Wordsworth | Hip Hop for Respect | ||
| "One Four Love Pt. 2" | Cappadonna, Channel Live, Crunch Lo, Rock, Shyheim & Wise Intelligent | |||
| "The Questions" | Common | Like Water for Chocolate | ||
| "Hurricane" | Common, Black Thought, Dice Raw, Flo Brown, Jazzyfatnastees | The Hurricane | ||
| "I've Committed Murder (Gang Starr Remix)" | Macy Gray, Gang Starr | Lyricist Lounge 2 | ||
| "Ms. Fat Booty 2" | Ghostface Killah | |||
| "Love Rain (Remix)" | Jill Scott | Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds, Vol. 1 | ||
| "What's That? (¿Que Eso?)" (also featuring De La Soul) | Tony Touch | The Piece Maker | ||
| "Can U C the Pride in the Panther" (Male/Female Version) | 2Pac | The Rose That Grew from Concrete | ||
| 2001 | "Reminisce" | Bilal, Common | 1st Born Second | |
| "Do Your Best" | Femi Kuti | Fight to Win | ||
| "Jam on It" | DJ Spinbad | Underground Airplay Version 1.0 | ||
| "Get Ta Steppin'" | Hi-Tek, Vina Mojica | Hi-Teknology | ||
| "Bounce" | DJ Hasebe | Hey World | ||
| "Street Sounds" | Charlie Hunter Quartet | Songs from the Analog Playground | ||
| "Creole" | ||||
| "My Nutmeg Phantasy" | Macy Gray, Angie Stone | The Id | ||
| 2002 | "I Against I" | Massive Attack | Blade II (soundtrack) | |
| "Freak Daddy" | Soundbombing III | |||
| "Seven Days (DJ Premier Remix)" | Craig David | "Seven Days" | ||
| 2003 | "On the Run" | Mark Ronson, M.O.P. | Here Comes the Fuzz | |
| "Guess You Didn't Love Me" | Terri Walker | Untitled | ||
| 2004 | "Two Words" | Kanye West, Freeway, Harlem Boys Choir | The College Dropout | |
| "Living for Today" | Toshinobu Kubota | Time to Share | ||
| "She Wants to Move (Native Tongues Remix)" (also featuring Common, De La Soul & Q-Tip) | N*E*R*D, Common, De La Soul, Q-Tip | "Maybe" 12" | ||
| "Beauty in the Dark (Groove with You)" | The Isley Brothers | Taken to the Next Phase (Reconstructions) | ||
| 2005 | "T.I.M.E." | Scratch Perverts, Black Thought, Stephanie McKay | Fabric Big Issue CD | |
| "Victory" | K-Salaam, Sizzla | The World Is Ours | ||
| "Love It or Leave It Alone" | Alicia Keys, Common | Unplugged | ||
| "Yo-Yo-Yo (Street)" | Medina Green | "Yo-Yo-Yo (Street)" single | ||
| 2006 | "The Corner (Remix)" | Scarface, Common | My Homies Part 2 | |
| "Superstar" | Ge-ology | Facets | ||
| "Where We At" | Jurassic 5 | Feedback | ||
| "Here Comes the Champ" | Dan the Automator, Anwar Superstar | Dan the Automator Presents 2K7 | ||
| "We Get Down" | Hi-Tek, Bootsy Collins, Raphael Saadiq | |||
| "Let It Go" | Little Brother & DJ Drama | Separate But Equal | ||
| 2007 | "Hey Baby" | Stephen Marley | Mind Control | |
| "Drunk and Hot Girls" | Kanye West | Graduation | ||
| "Good Night" | ||||
| "Brooklyn in My Mind" | 9th Wonder, Jean Grae, Memphis Bleek | The Dream Merchant Vol. 2 | ||
| "Light (Can You See It?) | DJ Krush | Suimou Tsunenimasu | ||
| "Love Rain (Head Nod Remix)" | Jill Scott | Collaborations | ||
| "Love Rain (Coffee Shop Mix)" | ||||
| "D.A.N.C.E. (Benny Blanco Remix)" | Justice, Spank Rock | † | ||
| 2008 | "No Particular Place to Go" | |||
| "Rising Down" | The Roots, Styles P, Dice Raw | Rising Down | ||
| 2009 | "America" | K'naan, Chali 2na | Troubadour | |
| "Mountain Sunlight" | Jazz Liberatorz | Fruit of the Past | ||
| "On the Vista" | BlakRoc | BlakRoc | ||
| "Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)" | ||||
| 2010 | "Party Done" | Medina Green | Save the Children | |
| "Sweepstakes" | Gorillaz, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble | Plastic Beach | ||
| "New York Is Killing Me (Remix)" | Gil Scott-Heron | ? | ||
| "Sweetest Fruit" | Baraka Blue | SoundHeart | ||
| "Breakfast" | Curren$y | Pilot Talk | ||
| "The Day" (also featuring Jay Electronica) | ||||
| "Prowler 2" (also featuring Jean Grae, Jay Electronica & Joell Ortiz) | Ski Beatz | rowspan="4" | ||
| "Arials" (also featuring Curren$y, Whosane, Terri Walker & Stalley) | ||||
| "Cream of the Planet" | ||||
| "Taxi" (also featuring Whosane) | ||||
| "Lord Lord Lord" (also featuring Swizz Beatz, Raekwon & Charlie Wilson) | Kanye West | G.O.O.D. Fridays | ||
| "Don't Look Down" (also featuring Lupe Fiasco & Big Sean) | ||||
| 2012 | "The Very Best" | Dee-1, Mannie Fresh | Save the Children | |
| 2015 | "Back Home" | ASAP Rocky, ASAP Yams, Acid | At. Long. Last. ASAP | |
| 2016 | "R.E.D." | A Tribe Called Red | We Are the Halluci Nation | |
| 2017 | "Buy My App" | Denmark Vessey & Azarias | Buy My Drugs | |
| 2018 | "Kids See Ghosts" | Kids See Ghosts | Kids See Ghosts | |
| 2019 | "Education" | MadGibbs, Black Thought | Bandana | |
| 2020 | "Breathe" | Navy Blue | Song of Sage: Post Panic! | |
| 2022 | ”Stars” | J.I.D | The Forever Story |