Mos Def - Umi Says

"I aint a perfect man. I'm trying to do the best I can with what it is I have."

Album: Black on Both Sides [debut solo album]
Genre: Neo-Soul
Album Release: October 12th 1999
Single Release: June 26th 1999 [2nd single]
Length: 5.05
Producer: Mos Def & David Kennedy
Vocalist: Mos Def [age 26]
Label: Rawkus Records

Music Video


Official Audio (Full Version)

Charts, Streams & Sales

Spotify: Over 35 million
YouTube Music: Over 11 million
About.com's Top 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All Time: #65

Credits

Bass guitar (Mos Def), hammond organ, percussion (Mos Def), rhodes keyboard (will.i.am)

Details

• The track is an original composition recorded with all live instruments, unusual for hip hop.
  
  
• The song was used in an advertising campaign for Nike Air Jordan.
  
  
• Umi is "mother" in arabic. Mos Def is a Muslim whose father was in the Nation of Islam. The Arabic for father is 'abi' and Mos also mentions his abi as well as his 'jiddo', his grandfather.
  
  
• Kendrick Lamar raps over this beat for his track 'The Heart - Part 1'.
  
  

Artwork