Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) Freestyles About South Africa Arrest & Announces His Retirement On Kanye West's Website!

Kanye West shared a message on his website tonight from Yasiin Bey f.k.a. Mos Def, who has been detained in South Africa for the last week after being arrested for using fraudulent travel documents. In the audio message, Bey starts off with a "No More Parties in S.A." freestyle, rapping, "I've committed no crime/Why is the state wasting my time?/They must be out of their minds." He also acknowledges his friendship with Kanye with the line, "Thank you Kanye West for being a real friend." After the freestyle, he launches into a lengthy speech decrying his treatment by the South African government. "I am being prevented from leaving unjustly, unlawfully, and without any reason," he says. "I have reason to believe or suspect that there are political motivations behind the way I'm being treated." He denies using a fraudulent passport, saying "it is not a fictitious document." He also acknowledges Kendrick Lamar. "Shout out to K. Lamar, I see you my dude," he says, and also name-checks Madlib, Talib Kweli, and the Zulu nation. Towards the end comes perhaps the most surprising part, when he announces, "I am retiring from the music recording industry as it is currently assembled today, and also from Hollywood, effective immediately. I'm releasing my final album this year, and that's that." Posted By Persist