When choosing your MC name, you have to think carefully. You want something that sounds cool, that is memorable, and that you won’t mind people calling you in 20 years time. Just ask Puff Daddy.

So why is Mos Def, owner of one of the coolest names in hip-hop, retiring his well-known moniker in favor of the name Yasiin at the end of 2011? The MC and actor told MTV’s Sucker Free:

“Mos Def is a name that I built and cultivated over the years, it’s a name that the streets taught me, a figure of speech that was given to me by the culture and by my environment, and I feel I’ve done quite a bit with that name and it’s time to expand and move on. Also, I didn’t want to have to deal with having any moniker or separation between the self that I see and know myself as.”

The thing we’re unsure about is why Yasiin? Likely it’s the tradional Arabic name Yasin, given a little hip-hop flavor. The rapper born Dante Terrell Smith has been a committed Muslim since the age of 19 and is active in a variety of Muslim-based community initatives. We’re all for dedication to your religion. It certainly worked for Muhammed Ali. Check out the video of Mighty Mos making the announcement after the jump. …MORE