12. "RE: But you used Mos Def as your example." In response to In response to 5 Thu Feb-23-12 12:55 AM by Austin
Unless he suddenly goes bluegrass, he will always be Mos Def to me.
With Joy Division, it makes sense to change the name to New Order because the band was something so many people saw as "Ian Curtis and some other blokes." That their sound changed too was a natural progression (and, in fact, many fans of 'Bizarre Love Triangle' and 'True Faith' actually aren't really into Movement because it sounds like a Joy Division album).
With Slowdive, they fractured apart and then regrouped as 75% of who they were. The main songwriters and voices were still there, but they were trying to do something different anyway. The change of the band name didn't actually happen until they had recorded three-fourths of their first album (and I also suspect the band name change had to do with legal reasons, as well).
Mos Def will still be doing that mildly angsty rappity rap boho-hop no matter what name he's using. So it seems a little less genuine in his case.