Talib Kweli so eloquently expresses his experiences of growing up in 90’s New York as firstly a fan of, but then an active contributor of hip hop. Kweli finds the words I could never conjure to express his love for Hip Hop that I also felt in the 90’s. Kweli signed his first record deal with Rawkus Records in 1998 and his description of the evolution of conscious rap is one that I remember vividly as a child growing up as. He describes a different time of writing rhymes for the cyphers and battling. Resonating with many of his thoughts and sentiments, I enjoyed this trip down memory lane from this unique insight into the minds of one of hip hop’s most highly respected conscious artists that entwines with much needed social commentary is a must for all hip hop fans, period.
I opted for the more intimate audio version to hear Kweli narrate his story in his own iconic voice, fused with chilled beats the mood was set right for introspection. With short chapters I found myself wanting to listen to just one more until I finished the whole audiobook.
Kweli’s was raised in Brooklyn, New York, his parents were educators so Kweli grew up loving to read, realizing “nerds have the power to change the world”. As he was finding his own voice so was hip hop, “As a cultural movement, hip-hop was beginning to find its voice, and that voice sounded a lot like voices from the Black Liberation Movement of the 1960s”. Hip hop was a powerful force celebrating education as empowerment and Kweli’s purpose had to be just as strong. A realization Kweli had from birth, “the literal translation of Talib Kweli is ‘seeker of truth and knowledge’”. His name meant he had to grow to be something, “with this name I could not grow up to be a crackhead.” Kweli doesn’t align with a specific religion, but he talks about his respect for Islam and the empathy for those facing Islamophobia and racism as a black man with an Arabic name, as ‘Talib’ would often auto correct to ‘Taliban’. He found an awakening when he was racially profiling at Heathrow for being a black man, which made him realize this was how the international community viewed black men, a narrative that had to change.
Kweli is not offended if people don’t like this music as art is subjective, but when they express hate against humanity he won’t stand for it as he addressed white supremacy his position in rising up against racism, systemic inequality, police brutality, mass movements and politics. He is an activist, a connector and observer using his platform to voice the struggle, he also shares with us his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement and his experience of being tear gassed whilst be was in the protests in Ferguson. He highlights how important it is to be an active member of any mass movement.
I enjoyed his storytelling of his meetings with other high profile people from Assata Shakur to Barack Obama as well as my influential rappers. He speaks on his brotherhood with Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) as they formed the rap duo Black Star, partially inspired by Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Line. Kweli mentions his love for Kayne West, but also touches on his thoughts of Kanye being ‘weaponized’ by white supremacists. His story of meeting Assata Shakur had me on the edge of my seat as I heard Assata was, excited to learn young people who listened to hip hop found inspiration in her story.
“expressed her deep love for hip hop and to never forget the sacrifices of those who struggled before us”. – Assata Shakur
It was a powerful exchange, from a time when hip hop and Black Power were fully entwined. Just as enjoyable was his depiction of his meeting with Barack Obama and other rappers to discuss the state of the prison industrial complex, leading onto contrasts in Donald Trump’s presidency ladled with misogyny and racism, with ‘anti -black, anti-Obama’ rhetoric at its core. I respected his bravery to share his truth, as he also mentioned the bigotry around Donald Trump. Kweli’s courage to always speak his truth well extended to his memoir as he touched on his experiences on Twitter, where he established a controversial presence engaging racists that led to him being banned on the platform.
“The more famous you are,” he writes, “the more people hate you.” – Talib Kweli
Kweli’s honest reflection is admirable, he does not wants to be boxed into a genre of rap and desire to work with talented artists of all type, even if that seemed to alienate this most hardcore underground hip hop fans, it opened up to many others in the spirit of collaboration. It initiated his mental wrestling with the question of why he went for the less profitable subject matter of rap, mentioning the success of Jay-Z who rhymes about a more material subject matter. We know Kweli would not be the same if he compromised the activist part of himself, or his diversity of thought. He will continue to succeed because Kweli continues to unapologetically be his authentic self for his art.
“I know I am a great lyricist not because others say it but because of the time I have spent dedicated to my craft”.
