Talib Kweli Greene
(born October 3, 1975) [1], better known as Talib Kweli
, is an American MC from Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the best-known and critically, if not commercially, successful rappers in alternative hip hop. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker"; his middle name in Swahili means "true". Kweli first gained recognition through Black Star, a collaboration with fellow MC Mos Def.
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Biography
Early life
Born in Brooklyn, Kweli grew up in a highly educated household in Park Slope. His mother, Brenda Greene, is an
English professor at
Medgar Evers College of the
City University of New York [2] and his father a
sociology professor. His younger brother, Jamal Greene, is a professor of Constitutional Law at
Columbia Law School. As a youth, he was drawn to
Afrocentric rappers, such as
De La Soul and other members of the
Native Tongues Posse whom he had met in high school. Talib Kweli was a student at
Cheshire Academy, a boarding school in Connecticut. He was also a student at
Brooklyn Technical High School, before he was kicked out. He later studied
experimental theater at
New York University (NYU).
[3]
Early career (1997-2001)
Kweli made his professional debut in 1997, with featured appearances on "
Doom," an album by Cincinnati, Ohio group
Mood (Main Flow, Donte, Jahson). In Cincinnati, Kweli also met
DJ Hi-Tek and the two collaborated on a few well received underground recordings as
Reflection Eternal. Shortly afterwards, upon returning to New York, he reconnected with Mos Def and formed
Black Star. Kweli brought along Hi-Tek to produce their first and only album, 1998's
Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star
. The album, released amidst a late '90s renaissance of conscious, Afrocentric hip hop, was immediately hailed by critics and achieved modest mainstream success. When Kweli and Mos Def parted ways shortly thereafter, Kweli and Hi-Tek continued their
Reflection Eternal partnership on the 2000 album
Train of Thought
, which was likewise met with critical acclaim, but modest sales.
Start of solo career (2002-2003)
Following
Train of Thought,
Kweli and Hi-Tek split as well, and Kweli used his first truly solo debut to attempt a move toward a more mainstream sound. 2002's
Quality,
accomplished this goal to some extent, featuring production by a host of different producers, including
DJ Quik and
Kanye West. The album was met with wide spread critical acclaim and received some mainstream attention thanks to the West-produced single "Get By."
Rise in cultural popularity
In 2004, Talib Kweli, along with Bob Moore's Amazing Mongrels, supported the
Beastie Boys on their "Challah At Your Boy World Tour," participated in a photo shoot by the amateur photographer Ben Fink Shaprio, and appeared in a few
Dilated Peoples songs, including a live
remix later featured on the video game
NBA Street Vol. 2
.
Kweli has used television appearances extensively to increase visibility, notably on
MTV's
Wild 'N Out
, and several performances on
Chappelle's Show
with long-time collaborator Mos Def; these performances were a product of host Chappelle's friendship with Kweli. Chappelle in turn participated in a number of skits on Kweli's albums "Train of Thought" and "Quality"- impersonating several people including
Nelson Mandela. Kweli also had a guest spot on
Kanye West's widely successful debut album
The College Dropout
on the track "Get 'Em High". West has produced some of Kweli's songs, including his biggest commercial hit "Get By". West also includes a nod to Kweli on the song "Breathe in, Breathe Out" from his album "The College Dropout". The lyrics read: "Golly more of this bullshit ice rap/ I got to 'pologize to Mos and Kweli", an acknowledgement of Kweli's meaningful message spread while part of Blackstar. Kweli can be seen in a commercial for the
NCAA's
Big Ten Conference, rapping about the league's
basketball teams.
[4] He also provided the voice of the protagonist in the graffiti-themed video game
Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
, released in 2006.
[5]
Talib and fellow rapper artist
Mos Def purchased
Nkiru, which is Brooklyn's oldest black-owned bookstore, and converted it into the
Nkiru Center for Education and Culture.
[6] [7]
Kweli's stature continued to grow, particularly fueled by a line from the track "Moment of Clarity" on
Jay-Z's 2003 record,
The Black Album
: "If skills sold, truth be told/I'd probably be, lyrically, Talib Kweli." Kweli responded to this in his track "Ghetto Show" on his 2004 album
The Beautiful Struggle
by stating "If lyrics sold then truth be told/I'd probably be just as rich and famous as Jay-Z."
Middle career (2004-2006)
In 2004, he released his second solo album and final Rawkus release,
The Beautiful Struggle
, which debuted at no.14 in the billboard top 100. The album featured much more commercial production, and although Kweli's lyrics retained their socio-political content, he affected a somewhat harder persona. The album failed to cross over into the mainstream and suffered a critical backlash.
In 2005, Kweli released a Mixtape-CD off of his newly formed
Blacksmith Records. The project was called
Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD
, a title which is considered likely a response to the criticism of
The Beautiful Struggle
.
On
Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD
, Talib Kweli sampled Ben Kweller's "In Other Words" for his own song "Ms. Hill". In part 7 of Kweller's video podcast series "One Minute Pop Song," Kweller said he found Kweli's use of the song "a little fucked up" due to the fact that it was sampled without permission.
[8]
Recent career (2007-2008)
On December 31, 2006, Kweli released nine songs he recorded with acclaimed underground producer
Madlib for free download in conjunction with the web site for
Stones Throw Records, the label to which Madlib is signed. The album was entitled
Liberation
, of which Talib later was quoted by XXL magazine as stating releasing the album was liberating to him; "The idea that I could put out an album like that: record it in my house, put it out for free and get that type of response."
[9] In 2007, the album was made available for purchase.
For his newest release, Kweli formed his own record label,
Blacksmith Records, and has recently signed acclaimed rapper
Jean Grae and the group
Strong Arm Steady. He also signed a new distribution deal with
Warner Bros. Records for Blacksmith Records. His latest solo album is called
Eardrum
and was released on Aug 21, 2007. It debuted at #2 on the
Billboard 200. The first single was Listen
|!.
Kweli embarked on a national
Australian tour in October, 2007. In 2007, a bootleg import CD containing rare and collaborative songs was released entitled
Focus
. Recently Talib has joined MTV's hit show
MADE
and filmed an episode in the small town of
Arlington, Massachusetts, as well as SMT Studios in New York City. He was the coach of Colin Colt, a young man who wanted to be made into a rap star.
In a rockumentary, Call+Response, headed by Justin Dillon, Kweli performed "Broken Glass" in support of the film's cause: a movement against slavery and
human trafficking.
Future projects
Kweli confirmed in a recent interview with
VIBE
magazine that the title of his next album will be
Prisoner of Consciousness
, a title derived from Talib's constant labeling as a "
conscious rapper" and based on
Nigerian reggae artist
Majek Fashek's album "Prisoner of Conscience."
Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek have both said they are recording a second Reflection Eternal album which will be a follow-up to
Train of Thought
.
[10] [11]
In March 2008, Kweli was featured on the
9th Wonder and
Buckshot track "Hold It Down".
Talib is currently recording a collaborative album titled
Party Robot
with
R&B singer
Res and musician
Graph Nobel under the group alias
Idle Warship. They have released one song, "Industry Diary" from the upcoming project.
In February 2009 it was announced that Talib would be featured in the
graphic novel-turned-animated series
Blokhedz, voicing the lead part of the character Blak.
[12] [13]
Reflection Eternal Reunion
In 2009 Bootsy Collins collaborated with Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek on the track 'Internet Connection' which is featured on the Reflection Eternal reunion album. The track can be found here.
Personal Life
Talib Kweli married DJ Eque on May 9, 2009 in Bel Air. The two have been together for approximately two years.
[14]
Discography
- Quality
(2002)
- The Beautiful Struggle
(2004)
- Eardrum
(2007)
References
- Talib Kweli
- Tsukayama, Hayley (July 10, 2009) "Hip-hop with honors". ''Star Tribune''
- Talib Kweli Biography - Discography, Music, Lyrics, Album, CD, Career, Famous Works, and Awards
- Power Rankings: Michigan St. Spartans (11-2)
- Review:Graffiti game fresh and fun
- Acclaimed Hip-Hop Artist Talib Kweli Named Black History Month Keynote Speaker at Holy Cross
- HPD - Homebuyers - New York City Neighborhoods - Prospect heights, Brooklyn
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCX54oh0p2o Ben Kweller's One Minute Pop Song: Episode 7
- Big Dog Status by Thomas Golianopoulos. XXL Magazine. January 2008. Page 82.
- Talib Kweli Playing It By Ear; Says New Reflection Eternal LP Is In Motion
- Talib Kweli Confirms Reflection Eternal Reunion Album | Hip Hop News > HipHopDX.com
- http://blokhedz.tv/?p=588
- http://vimeo.com/5991734
- [1]