Best of the decade: Mos Def

He didn't miss my acting top 25 by much; combine this with being a decade top 10 rapper and he's one of the few genuine monsters of multimedia in this era of specialisation. I still need to acquire True Magic, which Geffen tried to sneak on to the market without anyone noticing. But before that came the harsh words and sounds of The New Danger, refusing the potent accessibility of his verses for Kanye about American life (and later, the role of drunk and hot girls therein). Aided by Dr. Know and Living Colour's best rhythm section, "Ghetto Rock" sounds like it's opening up a whole new genre. And after that came the eclecticism of The Ecstatic, attempting to reconcile his identity as black and Muslim with his US passport. He succeeds, of course: if he could live "Life in Marvelous Times" in Bed-Stuy '82, he can do so now.