Talib Kweli
Skip the religion and politics, head straight to the compassion. Everything else is a distraction.Collection: Politics
You make knowledge relevant to life and you make it important for children to learn things that will really relate to things going on in their lives, and not abstract.Collection: Knowledge
I think once you're in the public eye, whether you're a boss, a teacher or whatever you do, that you're automatically in the position of role model. You have people looking up to you, so whether you choose to accept it or not is a different question.Collection: Teacher
You have to learn how to harness technology so you can use it for positive stuff without being disconnected from nature.Collection: Technology
That's what hip-hop is: It's sociology and English put to a beat, you know.
There's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle.
We're in an illusion about what our role is in world politics and foreign affairs, and our policies are killing and destroying and doing a lot of things that we are not aware of.
If I focus on being an activist and my job is to be a rapper, I'm not going to be as good of a rapper. I need to focus on hip-hop and focus on making the music, so that when the activists come to me and they need my voice to create a platform, then I've got enough people listening to me. Not because I'm conscious, but because I'm dope.
I'm at a loss for words. But even my loss is amplified.
The beautiful thing about hip-hop is it's like an audio collage. You can take any form of music and do it in a hip-hop way and it'll be a hip-hop song. That's the only music you can do that with.
Hip-hop is a vehicle.
Being called 'conscious' is a great thing to be, but it's the connotations and preconceived notions that come with the buying audience about what conscious music can be.
Things are fluid in this world, and if you don't remain fluid, you get lost in the sauce.
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.
If I'm performing with a DJ, it's all on me to draw the energy. I like the camaraderie of a band.
My musical influence is really from my father. He was a DJ in college. My parents met at New York University. So he listened to, you know, Motown, and he listened to Bob Dylan. He listened to Grateful Dead and Rolling Stones, but he also listened to reggae music. And he collected vinyl.
You have to know when to be arrogant. You have to when to be humble. You have to know when to be hard and you have to know when to be soft.
The responsibility of an artist is to be honest with themselves.
A lot of these people, these program directors, just like anybody else in the world, even though they're supposed to be leaders in the world, they're followers. They follow what they think someone else is doing, instead of trying to blaze a trail.
Ain't nobody making music to not be heard and the easiest way to be heard is to be on the radio, but you should never compromise who you are, your values or your morals.
And you know, art as commerce, doesn't really make too much sense, they don't go together.
As far as being on a major label, some labels get it and get what they have to do, and some labels don't. I don't think the label I'm on necessarily gets it, but I think over time they're gonna have to.
But it becomes disrespectful when the artist's process is not respected.
But you have to be creative on how you sell yourself and market yourself.
Even an independent label is looking for a hit, they're not looking for a record that's not gonna do well.
Hi-Tek is on three or four songs on the new record.
Hip-hop isn't as complex as a woman is.
I don't feel comfortable making empty music.
I met Mos Def around that time but I didn't hook up with him until I was about 17 or 18.
I not only wanted to showcase lyrical skills but also continue to drop knowledge on the hiphop community. I'm looking to elevate through my music, and through my music I educate.
I think all those artists are artists who are appreciated because you believe their words and you appreciate their honesty in their music. If you don't appreciate the honesty in the music, the beat can be fly as hell but you'll never give an emcee props.
I think its man's nature to go to war and fight.
I think music sharing of any kind is great.
I will never do a record without some sense of responsibility.
I'm not looking to set a standard... but, I believe I have offered a challenge to others with my work.
Once you're signed to a label you compromise.
People consider Black Star a great album, and I think it's a classic album. But the fact is, both me and Mos Def have made better albums since Black Star.
So I just had to step up how I was doing it and the moment that I stepped up and the moment I focused all my energy on that is when things started to happen. So there's a direct relationship between my inspiration and my output.
So I think hip-hop is moving and is going to continue to move in the direction of rappers just being honest with themselves, whether you're talking about Common and Mos Def or Nas and 50 cent.
The problem with our role is Americans live in a world of illusion.
War is not civilized.
Well if somebody's giving me a script, I'll consider it. But it's not something I'm chasing.
Woman are complex creatures.
The way I see it, if people truly love my music, they will support me in some way down the road.
Being called a conscious rapper is quite a compliment. It's a great thing to be. But as an artist, my nature is to not be in a box.
I don't think that early hip hop stood out to be a social critique. A lot of fans of mine think that hip hop's ultimate responsibility is to critique social structures.
I think hip hop is a dance music that's rebellious by nature.
I remember looking back on a photo of me... wearing a suit that was, like, two sizes too big for me. I think a lot of guys don't know what fits.
You know, there's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle.
You gotta eat right, you gotta have healthy habits, you know, and balance out your decadence with a healthy lifestyle during the day.