Yasiin Bey is not a fan of the new Barclay's Center, despite the rapper hailing from Brooklyn. In a recent interview with Vulture, the man formerly known as Mos Def explained why he's in opposition to the arena, and opened up about a poem he wrote denouncing the project.
"I have been what some people might call an opponent to the stadium," explained Yasiin. I was concerned about what the stadium's presence in the community might do. I saw one thing that was kind of a telling sign. I was on Dekalb Avenue and Flatbush, probably two months ago, and at the intersection I saw these not-quite-so-young men, in standing traffic, trying to sell bootleg Rolling Stones t-shirts. I thought, 'This is the trickle-down economic effect of Barclays in the neighborhood?' I didn't think of it as a positive...people lost their homes, people lost their businesses. Triangle Sports, it took up a whole block, been there a hundred years--they gotta go! That's the market."
Despite his dissident opinion of the Barclays center, Mos says he has no problems with Jay-Z. He made sure to specifically mention that nothing he's said is an attack on Jay.
Source: hiphopdx.com
