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RayneNamibia — My Tribute to Talib Kweli
Published: 2004-03-10 01:16:03 +0000 UTC; Views: 440; Favourites: 1; Downloads: 35
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Let me make this clear: I am not a fan of hiphop/rap music. Some of my pet peeves include that certain kind of music that is absolutely materialistic in nature. When its bragging about money, cars, jewelry, money, women/"ho"s, sex, wine, clothes, guns, money, murder, gangs, drugs, etc., etc., etc., that they possess, that's when I would want to throw a brick at the TV or something, unless my head is in too much pain from the obnoxious braggings of these "hardcore" rappers to actually make the attempt.However, I can't hold all rappers in contempt. There are a -few- for whom I have the utmost respect: Outkast, De La Soul, Pharcyde, Atmosphere, Missy Elliot, Tupac A. Shakur, Commmon.
But there's one for whom I have the utmost, umost respect:
Talib Kweli (Green, prefers his first two names more).
That's right. That is his real name, not a rapper's alias.
But rather than stick to the erroneous labellings of the hiphop industry, I would want to make reference to him from outside looking in.
Talib is a master at his craft: making raps that make sense.
His 98 release (w/DJ Hi-Tek), Reflection Eternal...Train of Thought, is considered one of the greatest CD's of all time. With such songs as "The Blast" (and the remix f/Erykah Badu) and "Move Somethin'", I think that he blatantly exposed many discrepancies within the hiphop genre, and (here's the good part) without shamelessly promoting himself or his possessions. His 2003 release, "Quality", does the same with no less ferocity, intelligence, and skill.
In fact, he had displayed such qualities as early as back in 94, when he released (with Mos Def) "Mos Def and Talib Kweli is Black Star". Let me show you the lyrics to one song that caught my eyes (and my ears):
"All knowing
Flowing like spring water in the desert
Balling through the barren land
Where niggas take a stand, like castles made of sand
Free falling
for anything
Nothin but a plan to fail for themselves
No sense of delf, needing daily affirmations of self-help
Yo its right in front of yo grill stop looking everywhere else
Speaking of planning
Hustling and scheming
Looking for hookups
Took up too much time
Like a fiend for rocks that got cooked up
God bless the child that's got his own s@#t
I got my team's
So the fiends now become opponents
They're the opposition
Stronger from competition
Shining like the golden shower, your face I'm pissin in
Completing a genocide mission like
the Warren commission
Like fathers was supposed to be missin
While our sisters were supposed to be whorin
Save it for a rainy day, money is pouring
Under grey clouds, black butterflies still be soarin
Flying in friendly skies
We classify the highs
Blood be flowing in the streets like Crimson Tide in my eyes
Tye be havin me drowsy
But I get mellow with the chronic
Intellectuals embarrassed cause we discussin ebonics
I'm on a roll like Sonic
In an age that the plague got bubonic proportions
Yo I call it reparations, but you call it extortion
Whatever
Just give me mine
But caution
You've been warned for the very last time
I'm not tellin you again
So relay it to your crew
You got to
actually do
Forget the drive-in, driveby, and drive thru
You've got to
Get out the car
Humble yourself
Tilt your head back and look at the stars
Shining over someplace very far, from where your standing
When the night is clear
You understanding just who put them there
What you know about the space you get lost in
Your people can't hear you in the distortion
The desert is absorption
And you sucked and you stuck off America freezing for like
2000 seasons
Upon your return from raping and crossbreeding
Your own people accuse you deceiving and misleading
Causing mass confusion. Drug abusin
Now you all caught up in institutions
At this time you have to break it down and be showin and provin
An A&R told me that I use too many catch phrases
true I'm tryin to catch all my people in
all different places
all different phases"
----Talib Kweli, "2000 Seasons"
and that's just the entire second verse!!!
Truly, I have yet to meet (or hear) a more powerful lyricist than Talib Kweli. "It's gots ta be!"
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Comments: 6
Talib Kweli AND Mos Def are Hip Hop's best collab. known.
These two, who which create BlackStar is a dominant force within the Hip Hop industry.
Rappers such as 50 Cent, The Game, Eminem and other internationally known rappers make a face for Hip Hop and its putting people off. Not that I doubt any of them because they can spit but not like 'Mighty Mos!' and Kweli.
The BlackStar alignment is a more soulful flavor to Hip Hop and those who look deep enough, behind the face of Hip Hop will know this.
Reflection Eternal is pure class and the same for Mos Def's 'Black on both sides' album, its "Lyrically handsome".
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Talib Kweli is good stuff man.
Thing I don't like about the music system is that it is always trying to put down blacks. Why else is shitty rap popular? Because suburban kids love to get stereotypical exploitive images of minorities. Nothing else.
There was once a day when rap was revolutionary, political and deep. Blacks were finally uniting and improving themselves. Politicians won't have that. The elites of society have gotten control of the revolution. Rap used to praise Malcolm, now it is just praising weed. It lost its revolutionary nature.
That is kind of why rappers like Talib Kweli won't ever get that popular. Nobody else seems to like an intellectual that speaks the TRUTH.
Good mentions, though. I dig Common. You ever listen to Dead Prez? Very underated stuff. Kweli did some stuff with them.
You seem like one of the deeper characters here. Better than most of these characters here. Get back at me.
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You might also like Maxi Jazz from Faithless. I've never heard lyrics like his before and they may be right along the lines of what you're talking about, good quality rap music as opposed to the material stuff you've also pointed out. I'm addicted to this guy's voice and the way the rhymes flow so smoothly, singing of life and the way it really is. It's almost like poetry only better in my opinion because the music actually matches the quality of the lyrics and really makes the tracks worth listening to. Get "Reverence," by Faithless and you'll hear what I'm talking about.
In the meantime, I could shoot you the lyrics, but it's better to hear them actually sung by him. It's hard to get a good feel of what's being said when you don't hear how it's being said.
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This has moved me .... songs like these usually touch me !!
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I agree on one part. Rap lyrics are mostly meaningless insults and rant about the rappers' problems just so people will feel sorry for them and want to listen to their music or something. THAT'S MY OPINION! DON'T NOBODY GET PISSED AT ME FOR SAYING THAT!!
Though I must admit, there are a chosen few rap songs I'll listen to, though I'm not saying the lyrics are much better.
Most of those are by DMX, just because that guy has good rhythm.
In another statement, I think that if you want meaningful lyrics, I wouldn't look in rap. Though those lyrics you found are quite interesting. Very meaningful, I agree
I like VNV Nation when it comes to meaningful lyrics, I mean dig the lyrics to their song Genesis ---> [link]
Anyway, I don't wanna rant. Good that you're expressing your opinions ^.^
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Indeed... I deny "bling," etc. all that mess. I'm really not much of a hip hop fan, I'm much more into Grindcore and stuff, but some stuff just has poetry and soul and music and groove. Take for example a small time group that comes to my town every so often called Furthermore. It's a two person hiphop group with really soulful, uplifting, and funny music. I dig it. I also dig the lyrics here, very heart. Yiss...
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