Yasiin Bey is about to drop new music

Christmas will come 10 days early for Yasiin Bey fans.

The Brooklyn rapper, also known as Mos Def, announced that he'll be performing new songs in a livestream show titled "Money Christmas" on December 15. People will have to head to his Bandcamp page to check it out and pay $7.99. The songs will then be available for purchase 1-2 days after the performance. Vinyl and merch will also be sold.

Bey announced all of this on Instagram while letting people know that artist Anuar Khalifi created the project's artwork. The cover, called "Osanta Bin Lyin," is a picture of Osama bin Laden dressed as Santa Clause.

Bey's last album was 2019's Negus, which could only be heard by those who attended a listening installation at the Brooklyn Museum. The project wasn't released on streaming platforms and isn't available for purchase. Before that, Bey dropped the highly impressive LP, The Ecstatic in 2009, which includes the unorthodox but very dope single, "Casa Bey."

Plus, the rapper reunited with Talib Kweli for another Black Star album called No Fear of Time in 2022, a project that was only released on the podcast network Luminary. So, it appears that Bey is done with releasing projects through a record label or regular streaming platforms like Spotify.

One of the last times the Brooklynite made headlines, besides the 2022 Black Star album, was when he called Drake a pop star instead of a hip-hop act in January of this year. He also suggested the OVO rapper's music is way too commercial sounding.

"Drake is pop to me," said Bey on The Cutting Room Floor podcast. "In a sense, like, if I was in Target in Houston and I heard a Drake song it feels like it's compatible with shopping. Or as you know, shopping with an edge, in certain instances ... It's likeable ... So many products. Look at all these SKUs. I love this mall. This is great. The new Drake? Do you hear it?"