TALIB KWELI - NEW ALBUM GRAVITAS OFFICIAL ALBUM THREAD
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FREE LUNCH: Crispy Eggs & Cheddar Grits With Talib Kweli https://myspace.com/discover/trending/2014/03/26/free-lunch-with-talib-kweli
Sitting near the front window at Maggie Brown, a comfort food spot in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Clinton Hill, Talib Kweli is explaining how much the area has transformed since he was a student at the nearby technical high school. "This used to be called Murder Ave.," he says about the now-posh Myrtle Ave. "When I was a little kid, you didn't walk down this avenue. White people? Nah. It's changed a lot."
He proceeds to talk about Williamsburg to Niko, a Brazil-born, Florida-based rapper who recently signed to Kweli's Jovatti label. "It was underdeveloped, no one was living there," he continues. "It was young urban professionals, mostly white, who couldn't afford to live in Manhattan. Then, because more professionals started living there, the neighborhood started livening up. And now, you have Girls." Four minutes later, he spots a New York City bus driving by, with a huge Girls poster affixed to its side. "Look, look what's going by us!" he says, pointing outside and laughing, shaking his head.
It's a sunny, slightly chilly March afternoon, and he's enjoying the Grandma Harriet—crispy eggs over jalapeño cheddar grits and a side salad, with biscuits instead of toast—and a ginger ale, as the sun glares through the window. Kweli is in the third month of promoting his sixth solo album, Gravitas (released Feb. 18 via Javotti Media), which features his trademark hyper-literate rhymes over lavish beats and guest spots by Raekwon, Big K.R.I.T., Gary Clark Jr., Rah Digga and The Roots' Black Thought, among others. For the first time, Talib opted to release the LP direct to fans through KweliClub.com, with each sale including personal emails so fans can directly communicate with him.
"I respond to one or two a day," he says of the emails, noting that he gets an average of five to 10 messages daily. "It's a lot of people who are artists themselves, who are inspired by the move. It's people from all over the world. There are people who get what I'm trying to do and have been getting it for a long time."
Released 15 years after Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star, the album presents a new challenge for the 38-year-old. "A majority of my fans, over 90 percent I feel like, don't know it exists," he says. "It's not something that's been on iTunes. Ninety percent of people buy music on iTunes. The market is dominated by things with big PR pushes, big marketing dollars behind them, and Gravitas has none of that.
"I didn't understand how acclimated people were to the ways they already know about doing things," he later adds. "That's a lot for me to ask of a person, of a fan, of consumers. It's very easy for you to go on your phone, boom, I got that album. I'm asking you to do three, maybe four more clicks than normal, and I feel like that's too much. iTunes is like two clicks."
When I mention that I prefer to figure out how I'm going to buy a record in a way that's going to give the artist most money, he says, "You're in the minority. There are fans—and this is who I was catering to with Gravitas—who really go out of their way. It's not for the person who's like, 'Well, when is it going to be streaming because I already paid $10 this month for my [service]?' Not a diss to that fan—I have 12 other albums that fan can listen to that are all streaming. I'll get some percentage, .001 of a penny if you stream it. Go for it."
Much of Gravitas was recorded during Kweli's tour with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, an association that drew criticism from fans and journalists alike. "The problem these days is that it's rare, like looking for a dodo bird, to find music journalism that's actually about music," he says, exasperated. "I'll talk about Gravitas and answer one question about Macklemore, and that'll be the headline, 'Kweli says this about Macklemore.' Then it starts to look like I'm talking about that all the time."
Kweli is no stranger to misinterpretation. On "New Leaders," Kweli references his longtime associate Kanye West with the lyric, "These new slaves ain't ready for my masterpiece / So when they hear me rap it's catastrophe." Talib is quick to dismiss any notion that it's a dig at 'Ye. "I recorded my song 'Turnt Up' a year or two before 'New Slaves' and I said, 'I ain’t asking for no followers, I'm looking for new leaders.' I always liked that line, so when Kanye said a version of that in 'New Slaves,' I was like 'That's a concept that people are understanding.' That's what made me want to make it a hook for this."
And he has nothing but respect for the current Vogue cover star. "Kanye's just a freak, man. He's a freak who cares about the culture and is very in tune with racial politics. His verse may contain some freak shyt, some shyt about being black, and some shyt about being famous [Laughs]. All three, every verse. But it's brilliant the way he does it."
So with a quarter of a year gone by since the release of Gravitas, what has Kweli, who's released prior projects with Warner Bros., Capitol and Geffen, learned about this new method of distribution? "There's no end result yet," he says. "I think I can be able to answer that question a year or two from now. It'll slow down, but [at] this point, it's still steady."
As we're settling up our tab, I ask about another big change that's happened during that time—the inauguration of Mayor Bill DeBlasio, the progressive politician who lives in Park Slope, the neighborhood where Kweli was raised. "I know he's a fan of hip-hop, so it makes my ego feel good. When he was running, he was like, 'I want to meet Talib Kweli.' Then he became mayor and I'm like, 'I definitely want to meet you now.' I'm gonna go up to Gracie Mansion and holler at him, see what's crackin'," he says, laughing.
With that, we part ways. Kweli heads out to meetings and, later, a gig in Manhattan and a DJ set—all in another day's work of getting the word out about Gravitas and connecting with fans along the way.
http://www.thegreenespace.org/events/thegreenespace/2013/apr/24/soundcheck-live-talib-kweli/
45 Live performance interspersed with an interview from 2013. I DL'd so let me know if you want it & I'll upload.
http://www.wnyc.org/story/talib-kweli-conversation/
@Kenyan West @flyry @We Major @Kaydigi @mrken12 @diggy @CheckMate @Insensitive @realdarkphoenix @Atsym Sknyfs @IronFist @Recca Gatsby @Thatrogueassdiaz @x-factor7 @g-ice @Abstract83 @GHOSTTOAST @The Ruler 09 @GREENandYELLOW @Digga38 @Ezus Jezus @Hiphoplives4eva @tremonthustler1 @blacmanrhymer @Animal House @Coherent @BigF
45 Live performance interspersed with an interview from 2013. I DL'd so let me know if you want it & I'll upload.
http://www.wnyc.org/story/talib-kweli-conversation/
@Kenyan West @flyry @We Major @Kaydigi @mrken12 @diggy @CheckMate @Insensitive @realdarkphoenix @Atsym Sknyfs @IronFist @Recca Gatsby @Thatrogueassdiaz @x-factor7 @g-ice @Abstract83 @GHOSTTOAST @The Ruler 09 @GREENandYELLOW @Digga38 @Ezus Jezus @Hiphoplives4eva @tremonthustler1 @blacmanrhymer @Animal House @Coherent @BigF
Jimmy ValenTime
A really good Lawyer
Here’s the teaser for the next episode featuring the Ma Dukes the mother of the late great J. Dilla and Talib Kweli. Be sure to tune in to the full episode on Tuesday 3/25/14. #Newman
On Sunday, March 23, 2014, history will be made as Talib Kweli headlines “NY Loves Dilla,” the first ever official J Dilla tribute show in New York, which will also feature special performances by Phony PPL, YC the Cynic and surprise guests, with an all-Dilla set by DJ Parler following the show! Hosted by Jarobi of A Tribe Called Quest andMaureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, Dilla’s mother, this event will be the first annual officially sanctioned Dilla tribute show in NYC to honor the legacy of the Grammy Award-winning producer, James “J Dilla” Yancey, and directly benefit the J Dilla Foundation.
Doors for this historic event will open at 6:30PM, and the show will begin promptly at 8PM. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.websterhall.com. Proceeds will benefit the J Dilla Foundation.
are you up on yc the cynic ?
Thatrogueassdiaz
We're on the blood path now
thanks breh, but I still haven't even bought gravitas.
Georgetown Professor, Rapper Talib Kweli, Artists Talk Faith and Hip-Hop - Georgetown University
http://www.georgetown.edu/news/dyson-faith-hip-hop-event.html
Georgetown Professor, Rapper Talib Kweli, Artists Talk Faith & Hip Hop
Throwback Thursday—The Oral History of Rawkus Records | Myspace
Oral History of Rawkus
@Kenyan West @flyry @We Major @Kaydigi @mrken12 @diggy @CheckMate @Insensitive @realdarkphoenix @Atsym Sknyfs @IronFist @Recca Gatsby @x-factor7 @g-ice @Abstract83 @GHOSTTOAST @The Ruler 09 @GREENandYELLOW @Digga38 @Ezus Jezus @Hiphoplives4eva @tremonthustler1 @blacmanrhymer @Animal House @Coherent @BigF
props g
Abstract83
Superstar
Talib is really well spoken. Good interview addressing the state of hip hop and our President. I don't think we should rely on hip hop to change. Just support what u like.
@Kenyan West @flyry @We Major @Kaydigi @mrken12 @diggy @CheckMate @Insensitive @realdarkphoenix @Atsym Sknyfs @IronFist @Recca Gatsby @x-factor7 @g-ice @Abstract83 @GHOSTTOAST @The Ruler 09 @GREENandYELLOW @Digga38 @Ezus Jezus @Hiphoplives4eva @tremonthustler1 @blacmanrhymer @Animal House @Coherent @BigF @N.J.stan
@Kenyan West @flyry @We Major @Kaydigi @mrken12 @diggy @CheckMate @Insensitive @realdarkphoenix @Atsym Sknyfs @IronFist @Recca Gatsby @x-factor7 @g-ice @Abstract83 @GHOSTTOAST @The Ruler 09 @GREENandYELLOW @Digga38 @Ezus Jezus @Hiphoplives4eva @tremonthustler1 @blacmanrhymer @Animal House @Coherent @BigF @N.J.stan
Abstract83
Superstar
Nice video. They killed that track fo sho
iTunes - Podcasts - Rare Portraits with Talib Kweli & Seth Byrd by Javotti Media LLC
I downloaded it without an account.
@Kenyan West
@flyry
@We Major
@Kaydigi
@mrken12
@diggy
@CheckMate
@Insensitive
@realdarkphoenix
@Atsym Sknyfs
@Recca Gatsby
@x-factor7
@g-ice
@Abstract83
@GHOSTTOAST
@The Ruler 09
@GREENandYELLOW
@Digga38
@Ezus Jezus
@Hiphoplives4eva
@tremonthustler1
@blacmanrhymer
@Animal House
@Coherent
@BigF
@N.J.stan
I downloaded it without an account.
@Kenyan West
@flyry
@We Major
@Kaydigi
@mrken12
@diggy
@CheckMate
@Insensitive
@realdarkphoenix
@Atsym Sknyfs
@Recca Gatsby
@x-factor7
@g-ice
@Abstract83
@GHOSTTOAST
@The Ruler 09
@GREENandYELLOW
@Digga38
@Ezus Jezus
@Hiphoplives4eva
@tremonthustler1
@blacmanrhymer
@Animal House
@Coherent
@BigF
@N.J.stan
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