Update Friday May 23rd: Abdi Hussein who is a friend of Mos Def claims the rapper being denied entry into the U.S is untrue. Abdi claims The Together Boston Festival Organizers incorrectly stated "immigration / legal issues". Click here for full coverage of the story
Mos Def (Yasiin Bey) has cancelled his US tour due to immigration / legal issues as reported by Together Boston festival organizers. Mos Def has apparently been denied entry into the U.S and the situation is developing.
The promotor has issued the following statement on their website.
"We regret to inform you that due to immigration / legal issues Yasiin Bey is unable to enter back into the United States and his upcoming U.S. tour has been canceled, including May 15th, Together Boston’s show at The Wilbur Theatre. Individual ticket refunds for this show are available at point of sale."
Mos Def has been living in Cape Town, South Africa since May 2013 and stated in an interview with the Mail & Guardian that he does not want to live in the US anymore.
"Last year May, I came [to Cape Town] and I said I'm not leaving,” the rapper formerly known as Def says. "I'm staying. It's a beautiful place. It has the ocean, mountain, botanical gardens and beautiful people.”
Bey first visited Cape Town in 2009 and decided to move because of his dislike for certain aspects of the United States.
Mos Def has been very vocal about his stance on inhumane situations at the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba. We have yet to confirm any of the immigration issues directly caused by his political views.
Last year The Guardian ran a piece alongside Bey re-enacting the "force feeding" practices at the Guantanamo facility.
The following video is graphic so discretion is advised.
This is not the first time we've seen a celebrity U.S citizen denied entry, back in 2011 Jermaine Jackson was denied entry due to back child support as his passport could not be renewed. Mos Def was ordered back in 2007 to pay $10,000 a month in child support. Is this a similar situation? Though supplemented by state law, a federal regulation states that non-custodial parents who owe more than $2,500 in past due child support must have their names submitted by the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement to the Department of State, which denies them U.S. passports. The Passport Denial Program was introduced in 2007 as a way to help states enforce delinquent child support obligations. This story is still developing.
Mos Def, birth name Dante Terrell Smith, adopted the moniker Yasiin Bey in 2012.
