Mos Def calls Cape Town home

US actor and rapper Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, has set up shop in Cape Town to work on several projects, including live gigs, online performances as well as selling body products.

Bey became a Muslim at 19, but he only recently changed his name. He has been living and working in the city since early last year.

He has performed infrequently and was on stage briefly to sing with Bruce Springsteen in Cape Town last month.

But, as the lyrics of his hit song Hip Hop attest, "it's hard to really chill and sit still".

"Cape Town is a very encouraging and exciting place," he said.

In his animal-print jacket, peak cap pulled down low, Bey announced that he was "taking over" in Africa.

In Cape Town, he has formed a group of artists, performers and designers from around the globe into a group calling themselves A Country Called Earth.

They are working to create music, fashion, furniture and fragrances.

Bey is a Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated actor who has had roles in The Italian Job, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the TV series Dexter. A Country Called Earth is working on its first release, Man on Ground, a film by Akin Omotosa and starring Hakeen Kae-Kazim, about Nigerian migrant workers.

He will also perform more. Last month, he released a live online performance of previously unheard material, streamed from a Cape Town rooftop.

He will give a live Valentine's Day show at Cape Town's Pepper Club this week. Themed Love is Not for Suckers, it will pay tribute to hip-hop producer J Dilla, who died in 2009 and would have turned 40 this month.

Bey is working with his friend, Abdi Hussein, who has lived in Cape Town since 2008 and releases music under the name Whosane.

Hussein said he left Brooklyn, New York, looking for "a change of life" and found "a greater sense of spirituality here".

"I knew something was up when I woke up smiling every day."

Bey and Hussein are aiming to promote "events where alcohol is not the primary beverage ". He said they had a good response on New Year's Eve when they sold a mix of healthy drinks, teas, and wheatgrass, lemon and ginger shots.