Currently detained in South Africa for attempting to leave the country without a proper passport in January, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) went on Facebook Live this afternoon to make a few announcements. First, he clarified previous comments that he planned to “retire from the music recording industry as it is currently assembled today" by saying: "I'm retiring this year, for real. This week was the 17th anniversary of Black on Both Sides being released. I'm grateful to have had the career that I've been able to enjoy, as I say to many people… my brother and sisters, thank you for spending your money and more importantly your time."
While he's stuck in South Africa awaiting proper documentation to arrive, he says he will be unable to make it to his upcoming shows in Europe (most notably an October 14 show in London) but he's come up with a solution: those who purchased tickets to the shows will be able to watch a live stream video, directly from Cape Town.
He explained that, although his retirement is coming soon, he does have a "a bunch of fly new material" on the way, however. He went on to directly address Jay-Z about wanting to share "exclusive new material" on Tidal.
Asked if he has any more films on the way, he stressed that he is retiring, but, “I do have one or two films that I made commitments to earlier, before I announced my retirement," he explained. "Apart from that, I’m moving onto other things, still being creative. You know, definitely fashion, textiles, and just art. Whatever I can create that’s beautiful and useful, that’s what I wanna do.”
Watch the full video below.
