Just days after news broke about his alleged passport scandal and arrest in South Africa, Mos Def has followed up with some more news… he’s retiring from both the music and film industry!
His announcement began with an update to his situation. He has so far denied any wrongdoing on his behalf: “At this present time, I am currently in Cape Town South Africa and I am being prevented from leaving unjustly, unlawfully and without any logical reason,” he said. As far as the passport goes, “It is not meant to deceive or derive unlawful benefit from any nation state.”
If you’re a hip-hop Stan, you understand why his retirement announcement can be a little disheartening. It’s poetic to consider the way he went about his announcement.
XXL reports that, “In a 10-minute audio clip, which sounds spoken through a telephone, [Yasiin] begins with a “No More Parties in L.A” riff, rapping, “No more parties in S.A., please tell ’em no more parties in S.A. / Hey home affairs, I don’t need to stay/I’ll leave and I’ll stay away/I committed no crime any place/Why the police up in my face?” Following his ‘raptual’ statement, he made his claim to retirement clear.
“Related but not directly related to this, I’m retiring from the music recording industry as it is currently assembled today. And also from Hollywood, effectively immediately. I will be releasing my final album this year and that’s that.”
Before communication with him was cut, Yasiin makes a claim that he believes there to be a political motivation behind the way he’s being treated –confirming that he hasn’t been physically harmed.
“I just want to go home,” he said. “And I don’t live in America and I have a right to domicile wherever I please without fear and without interference.”
“My family and I are prepared immediately to make whatever move that we need to make outside of this state, never to return to this state again,” he says in reference to South Africa.
Shoutout to Kanye West for bein the liaison between Yasiin and his fans. The full audio message has been posted to Kanye’s website.
We send our best wishes to Yasiin and his family during their time of trouble.
Source: XXL, http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2016/01/yasiin-bey-retiring/?trackback=tsmclip
TSR INTERN: Chantel P.! @_popchanny on IG!
