THE ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT OF MOST

VS. THE ARRESTING EXAMPLE OF MOS

I feel bad for Willie Nelson. But his recent ordeal made me reflect on the other high-profile arrests we’ve seen this year, from 50 Cent and DMX (both for traffic violations), to Busta Rhymes and Foxy Brown (both for assault), to Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson (both for drunk driving). Lately it seems like a lot of dumb celebrities are getting busted for doing dumb shit.

But when Mos Def was arrested outside the VMAs in New York a few weeks ago, it was mos-definitely not for some stupid, selfish slip-up -- it was a courageous act of civil disobedience. I realize this is old news, but the incident didn't make it on a lot of people's radar, and it deserves more shine.

Here's what happened: Mos rolled up outside Radio City Music Hall on a flatbed truck for an unauthorized performance of his song “Katrina Klap,” a fierce indictment of the Bush Administration. He didn't have a permit and he was charged with disorderly conduct. Check out actual footage of the arrest here and check out the music video here.

My hunch is that Mos meant to get arrested. But even if he didn't, his aim was certainly to disrupt a bit of the glamour and gloss of the MTV event and bring attention to the the deliberate negligence and inaction of our leaders and the suffering of our fellow citizens from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Afterwards, the media predictably spent much more time dissecting other aspects of the night, such as LL's and 50's rant about their label head Jay-Z. As Mos Def puts it in his song, "What's Beef?": Some beef is big, and some beef is small, but what y'all call beef is not beef at all. Real beef is the persistance of poverty and racism in America. Thank you, Mos, as always, for showing that it's bigger than hip-hop.