Talib Kweli

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Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli live at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Background information
Birth name	Talib Kweli Greene
Born	October 3, 1975 (age 31)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York City, United States
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Years active	2002–present
Label(s)	Rawkus Records Blacksmith Records
Associated acts	Black Star Reflection Eternal
Website	TalibKweli.com

Talib Kweli (born Talib Kweli Greene in Philadelphia, PA on October 3, 1975) is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the best-known rappers in alternative hip hop, and is frequently critically acclaimed, despite not having seen significant commercial success. His name in Arabic means "student". 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.^[1][2] He also studied experimental theater at New York University (NYU).

Kweli's mother was an English professor and his father a sociology professor. As a youth, he was drawn to Afrocentric rappers, such as De La Soul and other members of the Native Tongues Posse, and soon began recording with rapper Mos Def, who he had met in high school, and producer Hi-Tek.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Rise to popularity 1.2 Current state 1.3 Quotes 2 Discography 2.1 Black Star (Talib Kweli & Mos Def) 2.2 Reflection Eternal (with Hi-Tek) 2.3 Liberation (with Madlib) 2.4 Solo albums 2.5 Singles 2.6 Mixtapes 2.7 Bootlegs 2.8 Movies 2.9 Video Games 3 See also 4 Similar Artist 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

Talib Kweli started his rap career in a group called Mood with DJ Hi-Tek as the group's producer, Main Flow and Dante, back in Cincinnati. They had problems dealing with record labels and they never got major distribution and promotion for their only effort, an album called Doom.

[edit] Rise to popularity

Along with Mos Def (the pair were known as Black Star), Kweli achieved some mainstream success with Black Star (1998) on Rawkus Records. Mos Def went on to a successful solo career, as well as becoming an actor. Black Star and its individual members made numerous appearances on the Chappelle's Show, a popular show on Comedy Central hosted by comedian Dave Chappelle. Chappelle himself hosted a Block Party featuring Kweli, Kanye West, Dead Prez, The Roots, The Fugees, Erykah Badu and other Hip Hop and Soul icons. Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek (collectively known as Reflection Eternal) released the album Train of Thought in 2000, also on Rawkus.

Kweli has since released a critically acclaimed solo debut, Quality, in 2002, which received some mainstream attention thanks to the Kanye West-produced single "Get By." Quality also had tracks produced by successful producers Just Blaze and DJ Quik. In 2004, he released his second solo album and final Rawkus release, The Beautiful Struggle. The album features commercial production, and Kweli's lyrics retain their powerful socio-political content. Also in 2004, Kweli participated in a photo shoot by the renown fashion/celebrity photographer Ben Fink Shaprio.

Kweli has created his own record label, Blacksmith Records and has recently signed acclaimed female rapper Jean Grae, and has also signed hip hop underground veteran MF DOOM and Pimp My Ride's Xzibit's former group Strong Arm Steady(Kweli also appeared on the MF DOOM/Danger Mouse collaboration The Mouse and the Mask, on the song "Old School"). He left Geffen Records and has signed with the powerful Warner Music Group(to distribute for Blacksmith).

He has since broken through slightly more towards the mainstream, thanks in large part to an appearance on MTV's Wild'n Out, and several performances on the comedy show Chappelle's Show with long-time collaborator Mos Def; these performances were a product of Dave Chappelle's friendship with Kweli. He also had a guest spot on friend 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". Kweli can be seen in a commercial for the NCAA's Big Ten Conference, rapping about the league's basketball teams.^[3] He also provided the voice of the protagonist in the graffiti-themed video game Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, released in 2006.^[4]

[edit] Current state

Kweli has two children: an older son, Amani Fela, and a younger daughter, Diyani Eshe.

Kweli's younger brother, Jamal Greene, graduated from Yale Law School and is currently (in 2006-07) serving as a law clerk on the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice John Paul Stevens.

Kweli has also supported the Black August Benefit Concert since its inception, and performs at the show consistently every year.

According to Blacksmith's Web site, Talib Kweli's latest solo album will not be released until June 2007. In the meantime, he has created a global gathering place for all his fans on Second Life which will feature live concert streams as well as exclusives from his

[edit] Quotes

"I started rapping because I wanted people to hear what I have to say. I want as many people to hear me as possible, and I do everything in my power to make that pop." (from rapreviews.com)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Black Star (Talib Kweli & Mos Def)

Album cover	Album information
	Black Star Released: August 26, 1998 Billboard 200 chart position: #53 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #13 Singles: "Definition"/"Twice Inna Lifetime", "Respiration"

[edit] Reflection Eternal (with Hi-Tek)

Album cover	Album information
	Train of Thought Released: October 17, 2000 Billboard 200 chart position: #17 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #5 Singles: "The Express"/"Some Kind of Wonderful", "Move Somethin'"/"Good Mourning" & "The Blast"/"Down for the Count"/"Train of Thought", "Down for the Count"

[edit] Liberation (with Madlib)

Album cover	Album information
‎	Liberation Released: December 31, 2006 Billboard 200 chart position: N/A R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: TBC Singles: Funny Money

[edit] Solo albums

Album cover	Album information
	Quality Released: November 19, 2002 Billboard 200 chart position: #21 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #6 Singles: "Waitin' for the DJ"/"Guerilla Monsoon Rap", "Good To You"/"Put It In The Air", "Get By"
	The Beautiful Struggle Released: September 28, 2004 Billboard 200 chart position: #14 R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: #3 Singles: "I Try", "Never Been In Love"/"A Game"/"Black Girl Pain"
	Right About Now Released: November 22, 2005 Singles: "Flash Gordon", "Fly That Knot"
	Ear Drum Released: April 10, 2007[5] Billboard 200 chart position: R&B/Hip-Hop chart position: Singles: "Listen!!!", "More or Less", "Country Cousins"

[edit] Singles

Year	Song	U.S. Hot 100	U.S. R&B	U.S. Rap	Album
1998	"Definition" (Black Star)	60	31	3	Black Star
1999	"Respiration" (Black Star feat. Common)	-	54	6	Black Star
2000	"Move Somethin'" (Reflection Eternal)	-	32	1	Train of Thought
2001	"The Blast" (Reflection Eternal feat. Vinia Mojica)	-	48	2	Train of Thought
2002	"Good to You"	-	95	-	Quality
2002	"Waitin' for the DJ" (feat. Bilal)	-	77	-	Quality
2003	"Get By"	77	29	16	Quality
2004	"I Try" (feat. Mary J. Blige)	-	77	-	The Beautiful Struggle
2005	"Never Been in Love"	-	-		The Beautiful Struggle
2006	"Listen!!!"	-	-	-	Ear Drum
2007	"More Or Less"	-	-	-	Ear Drum
2007	"Country Cousins"	-	-	-	Ear Drum

[edit] Mixtapes

• Top Kwelity Classics Vol. 1 (2002)
• The Beautiful Mix CD (2004)
• The Beautiful Mixtape Vol. 2 (2005)
• Confidential Mixtape (2005)
• The Guerilla Pimp Mixtape (2006, Blacksmith Records)
• Brooklyn, Tennessee (2006)
• Blacksmith: The Movement (2006)

[edit] Bootlegs

• The Beautiful Struggle - Original Bootleg (2004, Internet)

[edit] Movies

• Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006)

[edit] Video Games

• Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure

[edit] See also

• Songs by Talib Kweli

[edit] Similar Artist

Floopy Head

[edit] References

1. ^ Acclaimed Hip-Hop Artist Talib Kweli Named Black History Month Keynote Speaker at Holy Cross. Holy Cross College (February 1, 2005).
2. ^ HPD - Homebuyers - New York City Neighborhoods - Prospect heights, Brooklyn. The City of New York: Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
3. ^ Power Rankings: Michigan St. Spartans (11-2). Sports Illustrated (January 6, 2006).
4. ^ "Review:Graffiti game fresh and fun", CNN, February 24, 2006.
5. ^ Black Smith Official Site. Black Smith Official Site.

[edit] External links

• Talib Kweli - Official site (requires Flash)
• Talib Kweli - Official blog
• Talib Kweli - Black Planet page
• Talib Kweli - Myspace page

v • d • e  Talib Kweli
Albums and EPs: Black Star | Train of Thought | Quality | The Beautiful Struggle | Right About Now | Liberation | Ear Drum
Singles: "Move Somethin'" | "The Express" | "The Blast" | "Down for the Count" | "Good to You" | "Fortified Live" | "Waitin' for the DJ" | "Get By" | "Peace of Mine" | "I Try" | "Never Been in Love" | "Flash Gordon" | "Fly That Knot" | "Getting Up Anthem" | "Listen" | "More Or Less"
Other: Reflection Eternal | Native Tongues | Blacksmith Records | Black Star

v • d • e Soulquarians
Groups
Black Star | Reflection Eternal | Slum Village | The Roots
Members
?uestlove | Bilal | Common | D'Angelo | Erykah Badu | J Dilla | James Poyser | Mos Def | Q-Tip | Talib Kweli
See also
Native Tongues Posse | The Ummah