I find it’s distressin’, there’s never no in-between:
We either niggaz or kings,
We either bitches or queens.
The deadly ritual seems immersed in the perverse,
Full of short attention spans, short tempers, and short skirts.

- Mos Def, “Thieves in the Night,” from Black Star’s Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, 1998

Beef is not what Jay said to Nas;
Beef is when the working folks can’t find jobs.

- Mos Def, “Beef” 12”, 2003

Life without knowledge is death in disguise.

- Talib Kweli, “K.O.S.,” from Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, 1998

Consider me the entity within the industry without a history of spitting the epitome of stupidity.

- Talib Kweli, “Definition,” Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, 1998