Yasiin Bey talks favorite musicians, Dave Chappelle and new art exhibit

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Source: (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage) / (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

Yasiin Bey Talks Music, Dave Chappelle & More With MSNBC’s Ari Melber

Yasiin Bey recently sat down with MSNBC’s Ari Melber, where he opened up about all different kinds of art. The conversation included his favorite music acts, his love for Dave Chappelle, and the brand new art exhibit he put together.

When on the topic of his favorite artists and what he’s listening to these days, Yasiin immediately lists Kendrick Lamar, who is referenced heavily in the aforementioned art exhibit. The other musicians on his playlist include Earl Sweatshirt, Blu, JPEGMafia, Kelsey Lu, Blood Orange, Robert Glasper, Eubie Blake, The Tony Williams Lifetime, and Emahoy Maryam (Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou). With an artist as creative as Mos Def, it’s not surprising he has a wide variety of different artists included on his personal playlist.

Moving on, the rapper discusses his friend and frequent collaborator, comedian Dave Chappelle. Bey notes several reasons why they’re so close, noting that they were both born in the same year and have a very special connection beyond that:

“He’s my best friend… one of my dearest friends for life — it’s another type of bond between me and that guy.”.

Most importantly, Yasiin goes into detail about his new art exhibit and the creative process behind it. Bey says his main goal was to provide “a more dynamic experience than simply downloading [new songs] from a device,” while also acknowledging that releasing his music in an exhibit–and not through streaming services–is “antithetical to the prevailing attitudes and practices” in today’s music industry. “This is a proposal about how to interact and experience ideas [while] the premium is on ‘the now’ … it’s a meditative, reflective sort of experience.”