Warrant issued in Las Vegas for Mos Def

Published Wed, Nov 5, 2008 (6:36 p.m.)

Updated Wed, Nov 5, 2008 (7:13 p.m.)

Associated Press

Mos Def

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of rapper and actor Mos Def after an alleged attack on a fashion photographer at a garment industry convention in Las Vegas in August.

Mos Def, whose real name is Dante Smith, allegedly attacked photographer Volker Corell, who claims the rapper ripped a camera from his neck, smashed it, then ran off with it, the entertainment Web site TMZ reported Wednesday.

Mos Def could face charges of robbery and malicious destruction of property.

Mos Def, 34, was born in Brooklyn. He came to prominence as a rap artist in the mid 1990s, working with Talib Kweli on his "Black Star" album and releasing several solo albums, including "Black on Both Sides" and "New Danger."

He began acting as a teenager and focused more on his acting by the end of the 90s. His music drew the attention of film director Spike Lee and he appeared in the director's "Bamboozled."

Mos Def also has starred in such films as "Be Kind Reewind," "16 Blocks," "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," "The Woodsman" and "The Italian Job," and on TV in "Chappelle's Show" and "Something the Lord Made."