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.
— Talib Kweli
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.
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.
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.
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.
I will never do a record without some sense of responsibility.
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 met Mos Def around that time but I didn't hook up with him until I was about 17 or 18.
Hip-hop is a vehicle.
But you have to be creative on how you sell yourself and market yourself.
And you know, art as commerce, doesn't really make too much sense, they don't go together.
Skip the religion and politics, head straight to the compassion. Everything else is a distraction.
The way I see it, if people truly love my music, they will support me in some way down the road.
Woman are complex creatures.
War is not civilized.
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.
Once you're signed to a label you compromise.
I think music sharing of any kind is great.
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.
I don't feel comfortable making empty music.
Hi-Tek is on three or four songs on the new record.
But it becomes disrespectful when the artist's process is not respected.
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.
I'm at a loss for words. But even my loss is amplified.
Well if somebody's giving me a script, I'll consider it. But it's not something I'm chasing.
The problem with our role is Americans live in a world of illusion.
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.
I'm not looking to set a standard... but, I believe I have offered a challenge to others with my work.
I think its man's nature to go to war and fight.
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.
Hip-hop isn't as complex as a woman is.
Even an independent label is looking for a hit, they're not looking for a record that's not gonna do well.
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.
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.
