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Yasiin Bey Reflects On His Artistic Growth, Civil Unrest & Why He Left The U.S.

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Yasiin Bey offers a rare, intimate glimpse at his creative process and the many reasons, both political and artistic, he left the US in an insightful and poignant interview with Beats By Dre. Animated and passionate as ever, Black Dante explains how the political and social climates of our country have deterred his ability to create unfettered, and have risen as barriers to the ability to embrace an artist's words. It's a revealing moment, where Bey takes the opportunity to chart his progression as a writer, transcending labels as a creator and how he's refined his processes to be able to breathe in his craft(s). Get the word straight from Yasiin Bey below. London fam, grab a ticket, quick as you can, to his forthcoming J Dilla tribute set.

“America is a very challenging place for me. Sure, there [are] great business opportunities and familiarity and all of that. Given the social, political and economic climate, it is very difficult—unnecessarily difficult—to create to the degree of fullness. The type of robust creativity that I like to have. It is very difficult for me to produce right here.”

“The writing process has become positively slower not in the sense that it is harder for me to come up with material, but that I find myself these days spending more time on one piece. So by the time I get to the studio now, the material—the writing—is really in me. I feel really confident and relaxed and excited.”