I have to confess that I’m a sucker for talent. I mean, who isn’t? If all these dancing/singing/acting/yadda yadda reality shows are doing so well, then the American public is certainly thirsty for some grade-A pizzazz. But while the hometown hotties on such shows are nice, what’s really effable is someone who’s taken time to hone their skills and grow into the limelight. A self-made man. And who’s a better example of that than Mos Def?

This week, he’s totally tops on my effable charts.

The Brooklyn hip-hop lyricist, born Dante Terrell Smith, first started recording music alongside his brother and sister as part of a group called Urban Thermal Dynamics. He has since broken off as a solo artist, and his 1999 album Black on Both Sides was his breakout achievement. He has also collaborated with such big names as Talib Kweli, Kanye West, and Common. And his slick, sexy, introspective side acquired a lot of recognition for his work on Russell Simmon’s Def Poetry on HBO. Confidence + smooth delivery= ultra-effability.

But that’s not all. He’s a respected actor whose Hollywood resume includes roles on The Chappelle Show, The Italian Job, and the newest Michel Gondry flick, Be Kind Rewind. Mos Def has been nominated for an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and multiple Grammys. Yeah, you could say he knows his way around the entertainment industry. Meow!

Mos Def’s newest film, Cadillac Records, opens today. How am I excited? Let me count the ways: 1) It’s a ’50s period piece (retro movies are always fun), 2) there’s sure to be a great soundtrack (it’s about a recording studio!) and 3) Mos Def plays Chuck Berry, the dynamic early rock-n-roll star. So while my man will be singing “Johnny B. Goode,” I’ll be thinking: Mos Def, be good to me tonight!

Although “Be Kind Rewind” is aimed at a more mainstream audience than Gondry’s last film, “The Science of Sleep”, the trailer seems to indicate that it will be an inevitable success. In fact, the movie seems to be a complete turnaround from “The Science of Sleep”, a film with relatively unknown actors (besides the lovely Gael Garcia Bernal) and an ambiguous plot.

The film stars Jack Black and Mos Def as two video store clerks who accidentally erase all of the content on the tapes that they are supposed to be renting out. In order to save the business, the two friends venture out with a video camera and re-enact the movies around town in their own home-made costumes.

Their antics lead them to stardom when hoards of movie-watchers start renting the flicks but the duo faces trouble due to the FBI warning placed on the copy written scripts.

Although I’m not usually a Jack Black enthusiast, his performance in the trailer seems promising. Mos Def plays an unlikely sidekick to the comedian, balancing out his obvious humor by playing the subtly funny friend.

I assume “Be Kind Rewind” is sure to promise a taste of unusual cinematography due to its creator’s love of cinema graphic experimentation. I look forward to these details as much as the story itself. There is also sure to be an usual love interest incorporated into the script somewhere. Judging by his previous films, Gondry has an insatiable taste for unlikely romances.

After watching the trailer, I can’t wait to head to the theaters and witness Gondry’s newest creation. It will be an honorable feat to accomplish if he is able to both entertain mainstream audiences and maintain his respectable position as an experimental cinematographer.