Biography
This page uses content from the Talib Kweli biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Talib Kweli (born Talib Kweli Greene in Brooklyn, NY on October 3, 1975) is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the most known rappers in underground hip-hop, and is frequently critically acclaimed, despite not having significant commercial success. His name in Arabic, means "seeker/student of truth"[1]. His parents were both college professors: his mother an English professor, 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 producer Hi-Tek and rapper Mos Def whom he had known since the two attended high school together.
History
Talib Kweli started his rap career in a rap group called Mood with DJ Hi-Tek as the group's producer and some unknown rappers back in Cincinnati. They had problems dealing with record labels and they never got a major distribution and promotion for their only effort - an album called Doom.
Rise to popularity
With Mos Def (together the pair were known as Black Star), Kweli achieved some mainstream success with the eponymously titled album Black Star (1998). While Mos Def went on to a successful solo career, Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek (known as Reflection Eternal) released the album Train of Thought in 2000. He 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." In 2004, Kweli released his second solo album, The Beautiful Struggle, which features production more akin to commercial rap, while Kweli's lyrics retain their powerful social-political content. Kweli has created his own record label, Blacksmith Records and has recently signed acclaimed female rapper Jean Grae, with rumors continuing to grow that underground veteran MF DOOM is the next artist to be picked up (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.
He has since broken through slightly more towards the mainstream, thanks in large part to an appearance on MTV's Wild'n Out, as well as several appearances on the comedy show Chappelle's Show with long-time collaborator Mos Def; this is due to a friendship between the host and creator of the show, comedian Dave Chappelle and the rapper. 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. 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.
Current state
Kweli has two children: an older son, Amani Fele, and a younger daughter, Diyani Eshe.
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 January 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 will as exclusives from his new album.
The song "Funny Money" (was available on Kweli's myspace) produced by Madlib is reportedly from a collaborative album by the two artists titled Liberation. Kweli has said it will be released in November 2006 and may even be free of charge—unclear as to how this would be executed. He also recently released Blacksmith: The Movement mixtape. Currently, it is only available at shows but should see wider release in the coming weeks [2].
Discography
Black Star (Talib Kweli & Mos Def)
| Album cover | Album information |
|---|---|
Black Star
|
Reflection Eternal (with Hi-Tek)
Train of Thought
|
Solo albums
Quality
| |
The Beautiful Struggle
| |
Right About Now
| |
Ear Drum
|
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 |
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 (November 2006 [3])
Bootlegs
- The Beautiful Struggle - Original Bootleg (2004, Internet)
Movies
- Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006)
See also
- Songs by Talib Kweli
External links
- TalibKweli.com - Official site (requires Flash)
- Official blog
- Talib Kweli - Unofficial site
- Talib Kweli signs Jean Grae to Blacksmith Music
- Talib Kweli Lyrics
- "Beautifull Struggle" Review
- Talib Kweli's Myspace
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