America's Mos Wanted

11/06/08 12:56pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

An arrest warrant has been issued for rapper Mos Def.

Def (real name Dante Terrell Smith) could face charges of felony robbery and malicious destruction of private property stemming from an incident which allegedly happened in August.

According to police, Def got into a fight with photographer Volker Corell during the Men's Apparel And Garment Industry Convention in Las Vegas, for which he was an official photographer and not a paparazzo. Corell says Def became annoyed while Corell was taking photos of the event's attendees and ripped Corell's camera from his neck, smashed it on the ground (shades of Kanye West) and then ran away with it.

Corell, who also says he was cut on his left hand during the attack, told TMZ.com that he didn't know who Def was until after the incident.

The socially-conscious Def recently finished working on his fourth solo album, The Ecstatic, which is due out on Feb. 10. It features production from Madlib, Kanye West, the late J Dilla, Chad Hugo, Oh No, DJ Khalil, Preservation and Mr. Porter. Although it doesn't yet have a definite track list, it will feature guest spots from Slick Rick, Q-Tip and Def's Black Star collaborator, Talib Kweli.

Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Def has become more known for his acting than his albums in recent years. He's appeared in The Italian Job, Be Kind Rewind and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. His last studio album was 2006's True Magic, which was recorded in Toronto.