The Cosby Diarists

For fleeting moments, Grant Hill and Mos Def have been the Platonic Ideal, or at least ideal role model, for their respective professions — coolly refined technicians of style and substance who stood in opposition to athlete/rapper stereotypes, i.e., the proverbial guys who you'd like your kid to grow up to be. Hill, born in Dallas in 1972 to Yale grad and Cowboys great Calvin Hill and future corporate exec Janet Hill, went on to win two national championships at Duke, and have a long career in the NBA, where he still plays, at age 40, for the Los Angeles Clippers. Mos Def, born in Brooklyn in 1973 to more modest circumstances, was a successful actor from an early age (eventually being nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe) who was a conscious-rap icon in the late 1990s, both with Talib Kweli in Black Star and solo. But, and there's always a but, both still carry the burden of what-could've-been. Plagued by ankle injuries, Hill has won only one playoff series as a pro, and in recent years, he even got tagged as an "Uncle Tom" by Jalen Rose due to Duke's supposed elitism. None of Mos' albums since 1999's solo debut have been a commercial success; his forays into jazz and rock have been erratic; and his political statements and behavior have been consistently eccentric. Still, perhaps the greatest career sin these two have committed has been to inspire us to believe in them too much. C.A.

Signature Grant Hill Moment:

Signature Mos Def Moment:

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