Yasiin Bey
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Laila! is a young artist on the rise and has already gone viral with her vibey “Not My Problem” track and it appears that as the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. During a recent interview, Laila! confirmed that Yasiin Bey, the former Mos Def, is her father but she isn’t hamstrung to compete in the spaces he’s occupied.
If you’ve been under a rock, Laila!’s “Not My Problem” is all over social media and a recent On The Radar freestyle session gave the song a wider bit of reach. Sitting with Complex, the “Like That!” artist shared with the outlet that the Black Star member is her father but her actual sound is more indicative of her generation.
“Yes, he is my dad, y’all. The rumors are true, no, I’m kidding. But yes, he’s my dad. He’s my dad,” she explained with a laugh.
Laila! added, “I don’t know, I guess, like, I kind of just always been my own, like, artist in a way. And like, that’s the cool thing, because I feel like as a kid, like whenever we would just jam sesh and like vibe out, me and him, I don’t know, I always had my own style, I always had my own thing going on. And he’s always just been like, ‘Okay kid, I see you.’”
From what we gathered from her social media pages, Laila! is an all-around talent with rapping, singing, and producing all appearing in her tool belt. The rising Brooklyn star’s latest release is the “Not My Problem” and “Flyer Than U” two-pack that dropped in June.
Check out the Complex chat below, along with her latest EP.
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Photo: Instagram
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Yasiin Bey took to Instagram Live to address the recent comments he made about Drake where he suggested that the Canadian superstar’s music is often heard while shopping at Target. The artist formerly known as Mos Def elaborated on his statement, urging for more substance from Drake and even demanding the same of himself.
Yasiin Bey shared a video on his Instagram page addressing his comments on Drake, and the expectations of an artist of his magnitude, while even turning some of that critique toward himself.
“First of all, I don’t hate anyone,” Bey began his discussion. “My opinion is mine. It’s legal in all states, as far as I’m aware. It was not an opportunity to try to slander him, or to clown on him. I have reached out to him, I have no responses yet. I’m not keen to talk about people or to them through a screen, I prefer to talk to people directly. But I will say this. The young man is very talented, he’s been able to be very successful with that talent, and I have no issue with his success or anything that he’s been able to achieve as a result of his talent.”
Bey then spoke directly to his words and that criticism isn’t always an attack on a person, recognizing that Drake has contended with such comments for the duration of his still buzzing career.
“I do feel that some of the criticism that he’s received in the past has been mean-spirited or unfair. So I don’t want to participate in that,” said Bey. “I’ve never had no issue with you personally, I don’t know you well enough to have any sort of issue with you in that regard. Nonetheless, it’s not sacrilegious to have a critique or opinion of a public figure, particularly one of that magnitude in current, modern culture.”
Yasiin Bey added that he would welcome the opportunity for a face-to-face conversation with the OVO Sound honcho, adding that he enlisted the help of Dave Chappelle to connect the two.
View the entire video below.
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Photo: Getty
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Drake was a hot topic of discussion during the MLK holiday weekend after a new interview featured Yasiin Bey sharing his thoughts on the Canadian superstar’s music. In the debates that cropped up since the clip went viral, Drake has responded in a way befitting of the “Petty King” moniker he gave himself.
Yasiin Bey was a guest on The Cutting Room Floor podcast and a segment of the chat was shared online regarding Drake and his musical output. The Brooklyn veteran expressed that Drizzy’s music is what you’d hear while out shopping at Target, signaling that he views the OVO Sound honcho as a popular or mainstream act.
Drake took to his Instagram Stories feed and shared a clip of Method Man discussing the finer points of Hip-Hop culture with an interviewer. True to his nickname, the Take Care star wrote in the captions, “What umi say again? Lemme shine my light king don’t change up now” referencing Bey’s classic “Umi Says” track.
While Bey’s observation might ring true considering where Drake stands in the greater conversation surrounding the culture, Hip-Hop has undergone a series of transformations since Bey’s initial start in the 1990s, and artists of that ilk undoubtedly influenced Drake. As it stands, The Boy has previously demanded respect from rappers for his pen work and even hopped into a strictly Hip-Hop bag on the deluxe version of his last studio album, For All The Dogs.
Naturally, Bey’s comments woke up the hives of both artists, pitting them against each other with fans using silly potshots, with some referring to Bey’s music as “Peace God Raps” and other related jabs. Others are defending Bey’s right to his comments and have taken swipes at Drake’s authenticity as a rapper while firmly placing him in the “pop Rap” world.
Hopefully, a conversation can happen between the pair to clear the air.
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Photo: Getty
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Yasiin Bey doesn’t pop out too often but when he does, it will always get attention from the Hip-Hop masses. In a new viral clip making the rounds, the former Mos Def likened the music of Drake to what one would hear while shopping at Target; the reactions are priceless.
Yasiin Bey was a guest on The Cutting Room Floor podcast and a clip from the conversation made it onto Twitter and spread widely. During the discussion about Drake, Bey said that Drake’s music was “likable” after the host said they found the Canadian superstar’s music to be good mainstream fun.
As the conversation progressed, it was clear that Yasiin Bey was trying to be diplomatic and the pair decided to advance the conversation to another topic. What might be getting people talking the most online is that when the host elected to move on, the pair seemed to smirk at one another.
Drizzy fans are rallying together to question Bey’s pedigree as a rapper but the Brooklyn MC has a sizeable share of defenders schooling the youngins on the fact that he’s one of them ones on the microphone.
Hopefully, Drake doesn’t take this personally and it all blows over by the end of the weekend.
Check out the clip of Yasiin Bey speaking on the sound of Drake’s music below.
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Photo: Getty
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Erykah Badu and Yasiin Bey are quintessential figures when it comes to the intersecting cultures of Hip-Hop and high art. The creative Dallas artist and the talented Brooklyn MC are joining forces for the Unfollow Me tour with 25 stops across the United States.
Credit: Tony Krash
Erykah Badu and Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) will kick off the tour in San Antonio, Texas and will end the 25-city tour back in Dallas. While they’ve carved out their careers in somewhat differing lanes of expression, the pair have worked together in the past on Mark Ronson’s Re:Generation documentary released in 2013.
Credit: Yasiin Bey
The tour was announced under Badu’s BaduWorld, Inc. entity, and will be produced by Outback Presents with the aim of bringing forth the artful and futuristic vision of Badu. While Badu last released music in 2015 with the But You Caint Use My Phone mixtape.
Bey has been active in recent years, reuniting with his Black Star partner Talib Kweli for the group’s No Fear Of Time album in 2022 which was fully produced by Madlib. Madlib also recently shared that he’s working on new music for Erkyah Badu.
Tickets for the Unfollow Me tour launch on April 20th at 2:222 local time. Learn more about the tour and purchase tickets by following this link.
The dates are listed below.
June
11 – AT&T Center – San Antonio, TX
13 – Desert Diamond Arena – Glendale, AZ
20 – Golden 1 Center – Sacramento, CA
21 – Oakland Arena – Oakland, CA
23 – WaMu Theater – Seattle, WA
26 – Ball Arena – Denver, CO
28 – Enterprise Center – St. Louis, MO
30 – Xcel Center – St. Paul, MN
July
1 – United Center – Chicago, IL
2 – Little Caesar’s Arena – Detroit, MI
7 – TD Arena – Boston, MA
8 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
9 – TD Pavillion at the Mann – Philadelphia, PA
11 – Prudential Center – Newark, NJ
13 – Capital One Arena – Washington, DC
15 – State Farm Arena – Atlanta, GA
16 – Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC
18 – Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
19 – Legacy Area at the BJCC – Birmingham, AL
21 – Fedex Forum – Memphis, TN
23 – American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
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Photo: Erkyah Badu/Yasiin Bey
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