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Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def cancels tour due to “Immigration/legal Issues”
RnB/Hip Hop | Monday 2nd June 2014 | Annalisa
Hip-Hop figurehead Yasiin Bey, better known as Mos Def, has again caused quite a stir due to the cancellation of his US tour. Boston’s Together festival announced last week that “due to immigration / legal issues Yasiin Bey is unable to enter back into the United States and his upcoming U.S. tour has been cancelled.” Naturally, this issue has been the subject of much speculation across the Internet, sprouting arguments as to whether these ‘immigration/legal issues’ are the cause of the US government or his own choice.
Despite no further details of the ‘legal issues’ being released, various sources claim to have deduced from his recent statements that the rapper/activist may be purposefully denying his own entry as a way of excluding himself from the country that he has grown tired of. This theory certainly isn’t unreasonable, as a devout Muslim convert, Yasiin has always been known for his activism and voice against unjust social norms.
In July of 2013, Yasiin took part in a re-creation of the force-feeding procedures carried out daily at Guantanimo Bay. Orchestrated by the justice organisation Reprieve, the video of his struggle raised worldwide awareness of the issue and the video went on to become the eight most viewed story in the history of The Guardian’s website. His awareness of crucial social issues and continuous drive to voice them was clearly prevalent in his decision to move away from the US.
He previously spoke to rolling stone about his choice to move away from America indefinitely: "I lived in Brooklyn 33 years of my life. I thought I'd be buried in that place. And around seven years ago, I was like, you know, 'I gotta go, I gotta leave.' It's very hard to leave. And I lived in a lot of places: Central America, North America, Europe for a while. And I came to Cape Town in 2009 and it just hit me. I was like, 'Yeah.' I know when a good vibe gets to you. And, you know, I thought about this place every day from when I left.”
It’s clear from the facts that there is more to this situation than meets the eye. Fellow rapper, collaborator and friend Talib Kweli spoke publicly through twitter about the looseness of the assumptions being made about the legality of Yasiin Bey’s entrance into the US. “I haven’t spoken to Yasiin cuz it seemed obvious to me that these rumours are unsubstantiated lies. But ya’ll believe blogs so I must.”
I haven't spoken on Yasiin cuz it seemed obvious to me that these rumors are unsubstantiated lies. But y'all believe blogs so I must.
— Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) May 28, 2014
Think about you've read about Yasiin. Does it make sense? No it doesn't. Do you own research if you that concerned. Stop believing blogs.
— Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) May 28, 2014
No need to get up in arms. Yasiin is, in the words of Dave Chappelle, chillin out in South Africa #mandelavoice
— Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) May 28, 2014
Another friend of Yasiin’s, Abdi Hussein, who also lives in Cape Town, stated that all of the suggested legal issues were a “complete lie”. Hussein told the South African newspaper website The Times Live that “[Mos Def] has never attempted to enter any country and been refused. It’s a complete lie.” Hussein adds that the rapper has merely “moved the dates” of his tour in order to work on current projects in South Africa.
Either this is just a case of miss-communication on behalf of Boston’s Together Festival or there are further, personal reasons for Yasiin’s tour cancellation. Either way, no words on the matter have yet been spoken by the man himself, but given his supreme talents for voicing his opinions and having them heard, it wouldn’t be surprising if we hear something from him in the coming weeks.
